GIFT  OF 


Charles   A.    Kofoid 


STORIES 


ISLAND    WORLD. 


BT 


CHARLES    NORDHOFF, 

AUTHOB    OF   "MA.N-OF-W\!l    l.U  r."    "THE  MERCHANT    VESSEL,1 
"WHAI.INc;    AM>    KISHISfJ,"    &C. 


NEW   Y  O  R  K  : 
HARPER   <fc    BROTHERS,   PUBLISHERS. 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 

1857. 


•GSoo 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-seven,  by 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of 
New  York. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION Page  9 

EVENING  THE  FIRST. 

MADAGASCAR. — Its  Discover}-.  —  Attempts  at  Colonization 
by  the  French. — Climate,  Soil,  and  Productions. — The 
Slave-trade  :  its  Origin  with  Pirates,  Support  by  Christian 
Nations,  and  final  Abolition. — Account  of  the  Cultivation 
of  Rice  and  Manioc 19 

EVENING  THE  SECOND. 

MADAGASCAR  (continued}. — State  of  the  Useful  Arts  in  Mad 
agascar. — Religion  of  the  Natives. — Idol- worship. — The 
Labors  of  the  Missionaries. — Radama,  the  King. — Perse 
cutions  after  his  Death. — The  Missionaries  are  expelled. 
— Sufferings  and  Martyrdom  of  native  Christians. — Story 
of  Rafaravavy. — Tamatave  Bay 53 

EVENING  THE  THIRD. 

JAVA. — Its  Discover}'  by  a  Portuguese. — Early  History. — 
Introduction  of  Mohammedanism. — Traditions  of  the  Ja- 
vans. — Volcanoes. —  Account  of  two  destructive  Erup 
tions. — The  People — Javans,  Chinese,  Malays,  Arabs. — 
The  Animals  of  Java. — Javan  Tiger -hunt. — Vegetable 
Products.  —  Fruits. —  Birds.  —  Coffee-culture. —  Manners 
and  Customs  of  the  Javans. — Marriage  and  Funeral  Cer 
emonies. — Handicrafts. — The  Bohon  Upas 87 


M167341 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 


EVENING  THE  FOURTH. 

ICELAND. — Its  Discovery. — Appearance  of  the  Island  at  that 
time. — Settlement. — Its  subsequent  History. — Prosperity 
of  the  People. — Their  Enterprise  and  Learning. — Intro 
duction  of  Christianity. — Its  Submission  to  Norway. — It 
falls  into  the  hands  of  Denmark. — Volcanic  Eruptions. 
— Other  Misfortunes. — Natural  Phenomena  of  Iceland. — 
Present  Condition  of  the  Island. — Its  Animal  and  Vege 
table  Productions. — Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Inhab 
itants. — The  Althing  or  Icelandic  Legislature... Page  126 

EVENING  THE  FIFTH. 

CEYLON. — Its  early  History. — Rule  of  the  Portuguese  and 
Dutch.  —  British  Occupation.  —  Climate  and  Country. — * 
Inhabitants. — Their  Religious  Belief. — Peculiarities  of 
Caste. —  Dress  of  the  Cingalese. —  Their  Houses. —  Cus 
toms. — Manner  of  Writing. — Marriage  Ceremony. — Burn 
ing  the  Dead. — Fishing-boats. — Catamarans. — The  Veg 
etable  Productions  of  Ceylon. — Agriculture. — Mode  of 
cultivating  and  preparing  Cinnamon 151 

EVENING  THE  SIXTH. 

CEYLON  (continued}. — The  Quadrupeds  of  Ceylon. — Birds. 
—  Reptiles. — Ants. — Buffaloes. — Adventures  of  a  Hunt 
er.  —  Elephant  Hunting.  —  Elephant  Snaring.  —  Taming 
wild  Elephants.  —  The  Pearl-fishery. —  Shark-charmers. 
— Manner  of  Diving. — Dividing  the  Catch. — Gathering 
the  Pearls.  —  Sorting  and  boring  Pearls. —  Jugglers. — 
Missionary  Operations  in  Ceylon 182 

EVENING  THE  SEVENTH. 

NEW  ZEALAND. — Its  Discovery. — Visited  by  Captain  Cook. 
— His  Intercourse  with  the  Natives. — Visits  of  Sealers. — 


TABLE   OF    CONTENTS.  vii 

Ferocity  of  the  Native  in  those  times. — Fate  of  part  of 
the  Crew  of  nn  American  Vessel. — A  White  Chief. — Cli 
mate  and  Natural  History  of  New  Zealand. — Quadrupeds. 
— Birds :  the  Emu,  probably  an  extinct  Species. — Vege 
tables. —  Agriculture.  —  Native  Farms. —  The  Natives: 
their  Origin. —  Traditions. —  Different  Tribes. —  Manners 
and  Customs. — Dress. — Tattooing. — Dwellings. — Canoes. 
— Food.  —  Mode  of  Cooking.  —  Handicrafts.  —  Marriage 
Ceremonies. — The  Custom  of  Utu. — The  Taboo. — Train 
ing  Children. — Religious  Belief  of  the  New  Zealanders. 
—  Superstitions. —  \Vnl-tajnia  or  Cemeteries.  —  The  Hai- 
hangu  or  Scraping  of  Bones. — The  Chiefs. — Their  Duties 
and  Honors.  —  The  Priests.  —  Slaves.  —  Forts.  —  Manner 
of  Fighting. — Planting  Powder. — Mode  of  preparing  the 
Heads  of  Enemies. — Treacherous  Disposition  of  the  Na 
tives. — Their  Cruelties  sometimes  furthered  by  White 
Men. — Account  of  u  New  /calami  War. — Atrocities  of  the 
Cannibals  on  both  sides.  —  Missionary  Enterpri-rs  in 
New  Zealand. — E'Ongi,  the  great  Chief. — Present  Condi 
tion  of  the  Islanders. — Success  of  the  Missionaries. — Ex 
tinction  of  Cannibalism  and  other  savage  Practices. — Fi 
nal  Reflections Page  238 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


Page 

View  of  a  New  Zealand  Village Frontispiece. 

Manner  of  Feeding  Cattle 41 

Rice  Granaries 50 

A  Madagascar  Blacksmith 55 

A  Madagascar  Idol 61 

Javan  Warrior,  Chief,  Woman,  and  Laborer 98 

Javan  Plow,  Hoe,  and  Reaping  Instrument Ill 

Javan  Krises  and  Matchlock 120 

Cingalese 163 

A  Banyan-tree  in  Ceylon...  173 

Elephant  Hunting 200 

A  New  Zealand  Idol-house 238 

A  New  Zealand  Chief 265 

New  Zealand  Boat 268 

A  Wai-tapu  or  Cemetery 280 


STORIES  OF  THE  ISLAND  WORLD, 


INTRODUCTION. 

AWAY  off  in  the  centre  of  the  great  and  thriving 
State  of  Indiana  (the  Hoosier  State  it  is  called,  and 
a  great  many  very  worthy  people  believe  that  it  is  as 
yet,  for  the  most  part,  an  unbroken  wilderness,  and 
that  the  inhabitants  universally  wear  homespun 
frocks  and  shirts,  and  buckskin  leggins  and  mocca 
sins,  and  eat  hoe-cakes  for  a  living — all  of  which,  I 
will  tell  you,  is  a  great  mistake) — away  off  in  this 
supposed  wilderness  there  lives  a  family  in  which 
there  are  four  children,  two  boys  and  two  girls. 

There  was  a  fifth,  but  years  ago  he  left  home  to 
become  a  sailor.  He  was  not  heard  from  for  a  long, 
long  time.  Once,  indeed,  a  letter  came  home,  writ 
ten  in  China ;  and  again  news  reached  his  father  and 
mother  that  he  had  been  seen  in  California.  When 
he  had  been  three  years  away,  his  daguerreotype, 
showing  him  in  a  sailor's  bluejacket,  and  with  tan 
ned  cheeks,  and  great  rough  hands,  reached  his  old 
home,  just,  as  it  were,  to  say  that  he  was  still  alive, 
and  had  not  forgotten  the  folks  there. 


10  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

All  manner  of  inquiries  for  him  had  been  made 
in  various  sea-ports,  but  without  effect ;  and  now, 
had  it  not  been  for  the  daguerreotype,  which  ever 
lay  on  the  parlor  mantle-piece,  scarce  any  one  would 
have  remembered  that  there  was  such  a  little  boy 
as  George,  as  we  shall  call  this  runaway. 

At  last,  one  day,  a  letter  came  from  him,  stating 
that  he  had  grown  tired  of  a  sailor's  life,  had  re 
turned  to  the  shore,  and  longed  once  more  to  see  his 
old  home,  and  the  dear  people  there.  Great  was 
the  joy,  I  dare  say,  but  greatest  among  the  little 
folks,  who  had  often  looked  at  the  strange  likeness 
upon  the  parlor  mantle,  and  wondered  where  the 
wanderer  could  be.  He  wrote  that  he  had  sailed 
over  many  seas,  had  visited  many  lands,  been  wit 
ness  to  many  strange  scenes,  and  taken  part  in  many 
wonderful  adventures,  such  as  I  suppose  generally 
befall  wandering  sailors. 

And  now,  in  mid-winter,  another  letter  came,  an 
nouncing  that  George  could  no  longer  remain  at  the 
East,  but  would  shortly  make  a  visit  to  his  home 
and  friends.  What,  think  you,  were  the  feelings  of 
the  old  folks,  when  informed  that  they  were  once 
more  to  behold  and  have  with  them  the  runaway 
boy,  long  given  up  for  dead?  Doubtless  they 
thanked  God  fervently  for  his  wonderful  mercy  in 
preserving  the  wanderer  from  the  many  dangers  and 
temptations  with  which  his  rough  path  must  have 
been  beset.  Doubtless,  too,  they  looked  forward  anx 
iously  to  his  arrival,  to  know  what  manner  of  young 


INTRODUCTION.  1  1 

man  had  grown  the  slender  and  weakly  boy,  whose 
restless  spirit  carried  him  off  to  sea  long  years  ago. 

The  children,  when  they  were  told  that  "  brother 
George"  would  soon  be  in  their  midst,  set  up  a  great 
shout  of  joy.  William  and  Josephine,  the  eldest, 
who  had  been  George's  little  playmates  before  he 
left  home,  searched  anew  the  store-houses  of  their 
memory  for  recollections  of  his  personal  appearance 
and  action  ;  while  Albert  and  little  Fanny,  the 
younglings  of  the  flock,  who  knew  of  George  only 
from  hearsay,  climbed  eagerly  upon  chairs,  and  took 
down  the  old  daguerreotype,  to  make  themselves 
more  familiar  with  him  who,  to  their  childish  imag 
inations,  had  heretofore  scarcely  an  actual  existence, 
but  had  seemed  rather  an  ideal  being. 

Various  were  the  conjectures  hazarded  as  to  the 
personal  appearance  of  the  returning  wanderer. 
Would  he  be  tall  or  short,  slender  or  stout?  they 
all  asked  each  other.  Would  he  be  rough  and  un 
couth,  or  gentle  and  kind  ?  Would  he  talk  and  act 
like  a  sailor,  or  was  he  rid  of  the  ungainly  manners 
of  the  sea  ?  William  thought  he  would  wear  his 
sailor  clothes,  while  Albert  gravely  suggested  that 
he  would  certainly  have  a  great  black  beard ;  where 
at  Fanny,  who  is  opposed  to  that  hirsute  ornament, 
was  thrown  into  the  utmost  consternation,  and 
vowed  that  she  would  not  kiss  him  if  such  were  the 
case. 

But  all  these  dear  souls  united  in  the  belief  that 
George  was  good  and  true,  and  so  they  all  detenu- 


12  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

ined  to  love  him,  and  to  make  him  love  them,  as, 
indeed,  he  had  always  done,  "  the  children  at  home" 
having,  as  he  has  told  me,  formed  the  subject  of  sad 
and  longing  thoughts  for  many  a  weary  night-watch 
at  sea. 

So,  one  stormy  afternoon,  when  the  snow  lay  deep 
upon  the  streets  of  the  little  village  where  these 
children  lived,  and  when  the  little  country  school- 
house,  which  Fanny  and  Albert  attended,  could 
scarcely  be  kept  warm,  and  the  children  sat  shiver 
ing  about  the  stove,  wishing  for  intermission  to 
come,  and  making  up  their  minds  for  a  glorious 
game  at  snow-balls  to  warm  them  up,  a  message 
came  that  Fanny  and  Albert  were  wanted  at  home. 

"  George  has  come !  George  has  come  !"  shouted 
little  Fanny  enthusiastically,  as  she  ran  home,  with 
her  satchel  dangling  from  her  neck;  while  Albert 
followed  sedately  after,  wondering  if,  indeed,  George 
had  come,  and  whether  he — Albert — would  really 
like  him  (for,  I  must  tell  you,  Albert  had  already  his 
own  ideas  as  to  what  kind  of  person  he  would  like 
for  a  brother),  and  revolving  in  his  mind  the  many 
questions  he  would  like  to  put  to  George  concerning 
the  wonders  of  the  sea,  of  which  he  had  heard  much 
from  his  father  and  mother,  who  had  once  made  a 
journey  to  Europe. 

I  think  I  will  not  stop  to  tell  you  here  of  the 
meeting  when  George  came  home;  how  he  found 
the  sprightly  little  fellow  of  four  years  grown  up  to 
be  a  stout  and  noble-looking  boy  of  fourteen ;  how 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

the  little  pet,  who  used  to  pull  his  hair  and  pinch  his 
nose  as  he  lay  upon  the  floor  beside  her  studying  his 
lessons,  was  now  a  graceful  girl  of  twelve  summers. 
who  came  up,  bashfully  blushing,  to  kiss  the  sailor 
whom  she  could  scarce  remember;  how  the  little 
ones,  Fanny  and  Albert,  whom  he  now  saw  for  the 
first  time,  came  shyly  up  to  welcome  George,  much 
wondering  that  he  should  look  at  all  like  other  peo 
ple,  and  determining  at  once  to  love  him  with  all 
their  little  hearts ;  how  the  father  and  mother — but 
we  will  draw  a  veil  over  this  scene,  children,  and  let 
your  fancy  picture  it  forth  for  you. 

Suppose  some  days  to  have  passed  over  since 
George's  arrival  at  home.  He  has  been  questioned 
by  old  and  young,  and  made  to  relate  numbers  of 
his  adventures,  and  to  give  long,  and,  to  him,  tedious 
descriptions  of  the  various  accidents  of  a  sailor's  life. 
At  last  he  declares  that  he  has  told  all — that,  really, 
there  is  nothing  more  to  relate — and,  with  a  shrug 
of  dissatisfaction,  the  old  folks  give  the  sailor  into 
the  hands  of  tne  children,  that  they  may  tease  him 
for  more  "yarns."  Think  of  their  joy,  as  they  have 
George  entirely  to  themselves ! — they,  who  have  been 
heretofore  obliged  to  listen  quietly,  without  daring 
to  ask  a  word  of  explanation,  or  utter  an  ejaculation 
of  surprise. 

The  little  family  is  gathered  round  the  ample 
western  fire-place,  in  which  the  great  hickory  and 
sugar-tree  logs  are  crackling  and  blazing,  sending 
forth  light  and  warmth  into  the  room,  and  casting 


14  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

curious  shadows  upon  the  walls,  at  sight  of  which 
Fanny  creeps  closer  to  her  "new  brother,"  as  she 
calls  George,  and  finally  climbs  upon  his  knee  to 
tell  him  how  much  she  is  going  to  love  him  if  he 
will  only  u  stay  at  home  and  be  a  good  boy."  Mean 
time  Albert  occupies  the  other  knee,  and  insinuates 
a  desire  for  a  story — "  a  nice  story  about  the  sailors 
and  the  ships." 

So,  while  the  red  blaze  of  the  hickory  fire  is  caus 
ing  wonderful  shadows  to  flit  about  the  old  sitting- 
room,  and  while  little  Fanny  peeps  with  secret  awe 
into  the  darkened  corners,  which  seem  the  lurking- 
places  of  all  those  curious  shapes  which  dance,  now 
here,  now  there,  George  tells  them  stories  concerning 
sailors,  and  ships,  and  storms,  and  the  strange  coun 
tries  he  has  seen,  with  the  singular  habits  and  dress 
es  of  the  people.  And,  by-and-by,  Albert  and  Fan 
ny  are  in  dream-land,  George's  voice  still  sounding 
in  their  ears,  and  causing  them  to  dream  wonderful 
dreams  of  dangers  and  adventures.  So  the  little 
ones  are  put  to  bed,  and  George,  looking  upon  their 
bright  and  innocent  faces  as  they  lie  in  the  calm, 
beautiful  repose  of  childhood,  feels  his  eyes  fill  with 
tears,  and  his  heart  swell  with  gratitude  to  Him 
who  has  borne  him  in  safety  through  many  dangers, 
and  has,  in  gracious  goodness,  brought  back  this 
wanderer  to  his  home. 

It  was  now  expected  that  part  of  every  evening 
should  be  devoted  to  story-telling.  Albert  and  Fan- 


1') 

ny  liad  been  looking  forward  to  the  arrival  of  George 
with  glowing  anticipations  of  the  nice  stories  he  must 
tell ;  and  the  older  children,  William  and  Josephine, 
were  quite  as  anxious  to  hear  somewhat  of  the 
strange  world  of  which  he  had  seen  so  much  more 
than  they  ever  hoped  to. 

But  stories  are  not  so  easily  told,  night  after  night, 
particularly  when,  as  was  the  case  here,  they  were 
all  expected  to  be  "  about  the  sea."  So  it  came 
about  that  George  one  evening  announced  to  his  au 
ditory  that  he  had  come  to  the  end  of  his  budget, 
and  that  now  they  must  think  of  some  other  sub 
ject  besides  "  the  sea"  to  hear  stories  about. 

A  very  grave  consultation  resulted  from  this  an 
nouncement.  Each  of  the  children  mentioned  some 
subject  for  future  stories. 

"  Tell  all  your  stories  over  again,"  was  little  Fan 
ny's  suggestion;  "I  would  like  to  hear  them  all 
half  a  dozen  times,  because  I  can't  remember  well, 
I'm  such  a  little  girl." 

To  this  Muster  George  strongly  demurred,  prefer 
ring  much  to  tell  a  new  set.  "  But  what  shall  they 
be  about  ?" 

"  Let  them  be  about  China,  where  the  silks  come 
from,  and  about  the  beautiful  Spice  Islands,"  said 
Josephine,  who  has  already  a  girlish  liking  for  all 
that's  beautiful,  and  particularly  for  the  beautiful  in 
dress. 

"Something  about  whales,"  said  Albert,  who  <1> 
lights  in  nothing  so  much  as  stories  of  wild  adventure-. 


16  STORIES   OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

"  Tell  us  something  about  the  little  boys  and  girls 
in  the  countries  so  far  away  that  you  have  seen," 
said  Fanny,  brushing  her  locks  from  her  face,  and 
turning  up  to  George's  the  brightest  and  blackest 
pair  of  eyes  that  ever  were  seen. 

"  And  what  do  you  say,  William  *?" 

"  Give  us  some  account  of  the  islands  you  have 
visited." 

"Oh  yes,"  shouts  Albert,  "something  concerning 
islands.  I  never  was  on  an  island :  it  must  be  so 
strange  to  have  water  all  around  you." 

"I  would  not  go  on  an  island  for  all  the  world," 
asseverates  Fanny. 

"  And  why  not,  pray,  little  miss  ?" 

"  Because,  if  there's  water  all  around  you,  you 
can't  get  off  again  when  you  want  to,  and  then  one 
might  fall  into  the  water  and  be  drowned." 

At  this,  Albert,  who  has  studied  geography,  and 
feels  himself  the  possessor  of  an  infinite  store  of  in 
formation  about  the  earth,  asks  triumphantly  how 
Fanny  is  going  to  fall  off  an  island  a  hundred  miles 
long. 

Whereupon  Fanny  declares  her  belief  that  there 
can  not  be  an  island  one  hundred  miles  long,  "  be 
cause  the  water  could  not  get  around  so  far." 

To  such  little  girls  as  Fanny,  one  hundred  miles 
seems  a  vast  distance.  The  children  explain  to  her 
that  any  body  of  land  entirely  surrounded  by  water 
is  called  an  island ;  and  when  she  has  been  brought 
to  a  comprehension  of  this  general  truth,  Master 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

Oeorge  electrifies  his  audience  by  the  assertion  that 
America  is  an  island. 

"  That's  a  story,  sure  enough,"  whispers  Josephine, 
who  is  mischievously  inclined  to  disbelief. 

"  But  that  is  an  island  concerning  which  I  am  not 
going  to  speak  to  you.  The  discoveries  in  the  Arc 
tic  regions  have  proved  the  fact  that  the  Continent 
of  North  America  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  water, 
and  is  thus  entirely  unconnected  with  either  Europe 
or  Asia,  and,  in  fact,  forms,  with  South  America,  a 
vast  island." 

"  How  strange  that  we  should  live  on  an  island !" 
exclaims  Fanny ;  "  I  sha'n't  feel  like  I  did  before,  I 
know." 

"  I  would  like  to  hear  something  concerning  isl 
ands,"  says  Albert  now. 

Fanny.  Will  the  stories  be  true  ? 

George.  Yes,  indeed. 

Fan.  And  will  you  tell  me  something  about  the 
little  boys  and  girls  on  the  islands  ? 

Geo.  Yes. 

Albert.  And  about  the  lions,  and  tigers,  and  ser 
pents  that  are  found  on  some  of  them  ? 

Geo.  Yes. 

William.  And  about  what  the  people  do,  how 
they  dress  and  live,  and  of  the  idols  some  of  them 
worship  ? 

Geo.  Yes. 

Josephine.  And  you  will  tell  us,  too,  something 
about  those  good  missionaries,  who  go  so  far  away 
B 


18  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

from  home  among  the  poor  heathen  to  make  them 
good? 

Geo.  Yes. 

Al.  Have  you  ever  seen  a  missionary,  George? 

Geo.  Yes,  indeed. 

Whereat  Albert  looks  up  with  interest  and  won 
der,  for  his  father  has  a  missionary  paper  sent  to 
him,  and  in  this  he  has  read  often  strange  accounts 
of  the  labors  of  these  good  men  and  women  among 
the  heathen. 

Jose.  And,  moreover,  I  want  to  know  all  about 
the  ladies  on  these  islands ;  and  all  you  tell  us  must 
be  true. 

Al.  And  I  would  like  to  hear  how  they  catch  all 
the  wild  animals. 

Will.  And  I  think  you  ought  to  tell  us  something 
of  how  the  islands  were  first  discovered. 

Geo.  Has  not  Miss  Fanny  an  additional  sug 
gestion  ? 

But  Fanny  has  fallen  asleep  on  George's  knee, 
and  makes  no  answer  to  the  demand  upon  her. 

So,  after  her  mother  had  placed  Fanny  in  her  lit 
tle  bed,  it  was  resolved  that  the  "  island  world,"  as 
Master  George  chose  to  call  it,  should  be  the  subject 
for  a  series  of  stories.  And  it  being,  by  this  time, 
nine  o'clock,  the  three  children  wished  George  good 
night,  and  betook  themselves  to  their  peaceful  and 
happy  slumbers,  thinking,  no  doubt,  of  the  strange 
things  which  should  be  revealed  to  them  on  evenings 
to  come. 


EVENING  THE  FIRST. 

"WHERE,  in  the  'Island  World,'  shall  we  begin, 
children  ?"  asked  George,  when,  on  the  following  even 
ing,  they  were  again  gathered  about  the  bright  fire ; 
Fanny  nestling  as  usual  upon  George's  knee,  while 
Albert  sat  beside  him  upon  the  sofa,  leaning  against 
Master  George's  arm,  and  dividing  his  attention  be 
tween  the  story-teller  and  the  cheerful  fire.  Will 
iam  and  Josephine  had  ensconced  themselves  upon 
two  low  seats  immediately  in  front  of  the  rest. 

The  lamp  had  been  voted  a  superfluity,  "because," 
said  Albert,  "it  is  so  much  nicer  to  sit  in  the  dark 
when  one  is  listening  to  stories  of  lions,  and  tigers, 
and  wolves."  And  as  William  extinguishes  the 
light,  Fanny,  who  is  yet  a  very  little  girl,  and  not 
near  so  brave  as  her  brother  Albert,  nestles  closer  to 
Master  George,  and  whispers  him  not  to  tell  about 
the  lions  yet,  "  till  I  fall  asleep." 

"But  where  shall  we  begin?"  repeats  George. 

"You  must  talk  about  some  island  which  you 
have  visited  yourself,  so  that  we  shall  know  it  is  all 
true  that  you  tell  us,"  urges  Albert,  who  thinks 
nothing  so  true,  in  the  stories  of  strange  lands,  as 
that  which  brother  George  has  himself  been  wit 
ness  to. 

"  Suppose  you  begin  with  Madagascar,"  suggests 


ISLAND  WORLD. 


William  ;  "  you  were  telling  us  the  other  day  that 
you  had  been  there  several  times." 

"Madagascar  be  it  then,"  answers  George,  who, 
it  must  be  owned,  had  made  a  private  arrangement 
beforehand  with  William  to  suggest  this  island  as 
the  subject  of  the  first  story,  and  had  taken  pains 
to  look  through  some  books  on  its  history  which 
he  found  in  the  library  at  home. 

For  I  do  not  suppose,  my  dear  children  who  read 
this  story,  that  such  a  sailor  as  George,  who  had 
spent  among  tar  and  ropes,  and  amid  wintry  storms 
and  tropical  heats  —  among  wild  Hindoos  and  Ka 
nakas,  and  wilder  sailors  —  those  years  which  you, 
by  the  kindness  of  parents  and  friends,  may  devote 
to  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge  —  I  do  not 
suppose,  I  say,  that  a  young  man  laboring  under  all 
these  disadvantages  could  reasonably  be  expected  to 
have  "by  heart"  the  history  of  all  the  islands  of 
which  these  children  expected  to  hear.  So  he  had 
determined  in  his  own  mind  to  read  over  carefully 
such  accounts  of  these  places  as  were  within  his 
reach,  and  to  add  thus  to  what  he  had  himself  seen 
of  them  the  observations  of  travelers  and  geogra 
phers,  hoping  to  instruct  as  well  as  interest  his  little 
auditory.  This,  Master  Jesse,  a  young  gentleman 
who  sometimes  visited  the  children  (with  whom  he 
was  a  great  favorite),  and  who  was  now  in  his  senior 
year  in  a  college  not  far  from  their  place  of  resi 
dence,  and,  by  consequence,  regarded  by  his  friends 
as  good  authority  upon  such  matters,  was  pleased  to 


MADAGASCAR.  21 

pronounce  an  excellent  plan.  And  I,  who  have  de 
termined  to  write  down  George's  stories  for  the 
amusement  of  other  boys  and  girls,  will  hold  Master 
Jesse  responsible  if  any  one  should  find  fault  with 
them,  and  am  prepared  to  casj;  all  the  blame  upon 
him,  should  they  prove  tiresome  or  uninstructive. 

And  so,  after  a  pause,  during  which  all  had  seat 
ed  themselves  comfortably,  and  little  Fanny,  having 
given  George  a  good-night  kiss,  had  closed  her  bright 
eyes  in  slumber,  he  began  as  follows :  Madagascar, 
before  the  discovery  of  the  great  island  of  New 
Holland,  was  reckoned  the  largest  island  in  the 
world.  It  is  situated,  as  you  know,  on  the  eastern 
coast  of  Africa,  from  which  it  is  separated  by  an 
arm  of  the  sea,  known  as  the  Mozambique  Channel, 
and  in  the  earlier  days  of  Indian  navigation  much 
used  and  spoken  of  as  a  "  shorter  passage  to  India." 

The  island  is  nearly  1000  miles  long,  averages 
in  breadth  from  240  to  250  miles,  and  has  been  es 
timated  by  learned  geographers  to  contain  about 
150,000,000  acres  of  land,  which  would  make  it 
nearly  five  times  as  large  as  all  Indiana.  It  lies 
about  1800  miles  northeast  from  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  and  is  distant  from  the  nearest  point  on  the 
African  Coast  (Mozambique)  about  250  miles,  and 
from  the  beautiful  Isle  of  France  about  500. 

We  learn  that  the  island  first  became  known  to 
Europeans  in  the  13th  century.  Marco  Polo,  a  cel 
ebrated  Venetian  traveler  of  those  days,  to  whom 
we  are  indebted  for  much  valuable  information  con- 


22  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

cerning  the  "  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth  and  the  in 
habitants  thereof,"  as  well  as  for  many  incredible 
stories  of  the  marvels  of  those  lands,  brought  back 
from  one  of  his  journeys  some  accounts  of  an  island 
which  he  had  been  taught  by  his  Arab  informants 
to  call  Magaster. 

To  the  Moors  and  Persians,  and  especially  the 
Arabs,  the  enterprising  navigators  and  merchants 
of  those  Eastern  seas,  it  was,  however,  known  long 
before  this.  They  called  it  Serendah  as  well  as  Ma 
gaster,  and  I  believe,  indeed,  that  Sinbad  the  Sailor, 
of  whom  you  were  reading  the  other  day,  Albert, 
in  the  Arabian  Nights,  made  one  of  his  voyages  to 
Serandib  (which  is  Madagascar),  where  he  was  pre 
cipitated  by  a  great  bird  into  a  valley  of  diamonds. 
When  I  was  in  Madagascar,  however,  I  could  find 
no  one  who  had  ever  heard  of  a  Koc,  as  the  bird  is 
called  in  Sinbad' s  story;  and  as  for  the  valley  of 
diamonds,  I  am  convinced  that  if  there  was  such  a 
place,  Sinbad' s  friends,  to  whom  he  related  his  ad 
ventures  on  his  return,  must  have  fitted  out  an  ex 
pedition,  and,  finding  the  wonderful  cave  and  valley, 
transported  all  the  precious  stones  to  Bagdad. 

However  this  may  be,  the  Arabs  knew  of  the  isl 
and,  and  very  long  ago  visited  its  eastern  coast  for 
purposes  of  traffic.  The  first  European  who  set  foot 
upon  its  shores,  so  far  as  we  have  knowledge  at  this 
day,  was  Lawrence  Almeida,  the  son  of  the  Portu 
guese  Viceroy  of  India.  This  was  in  the  beginning 
of  the  16th  century;  and  in  1508,  the  Portuguese, 


RAGE    FOR    DISCO VEUY.  23 

who  were  at  that  time  the  most  enterprising  and 
daring  navigators,  circumnavigated  the  island,  and 
discovered  several  safe  and  convenient  anchorages, 
which  were  for  a  long  time  much  used  by  them  on 
their  Indian  voyages. 

In  those  days,  the  rulers  of  southern  and  western 
Europe,  knowing  but  li ttle  of  the  other  parts  of  the 
great  world,  but  stirred  to  enterprise  by  the  won 
drous  discoveries  of  the  great  Columbus,  were  send 
ing  out  numerous  expeditions  for  the  discovery  of 
strange  lands.  And  these  simple-hearted  naviga 
tors,  regarding  all  heathendom  as  lying  under  the 
curse  of  the  Creator,  and  rightly  to  be  victimized  by 
Christian  men,  hesitated  not  to  declare  themselves, 
or,  rather,  the  rulers  under  whose  favor  and  with 
whose  means  the  expedition  happened  to  be  fitted 
out,  formally  possessors  of  fertile  and  populous  ter 
ritories,  considering  the  planting  of  a  cross  and  the 
raising  of  a  banner  quite  sufficient  to  annihilate  any 
right  to  the  soil  which  the  ignorant  inhabitants  may 
have  imagined  themselves  possessed  of.  It  was  a 
wicked  and  almost  insane  longing  for  the  gold  and 
other  wealth  of  the  heathen  which  prompted  most 
of  these  people  to  deeds  of  adventure.  And  while 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  was  the  ostensible 
object  of  their  many  voyagings,  these  searchers  after 
gold  made  the  cross  and  the  slave-whip  joint  sym 
bols  of  a  holy  religion — made  Christianity  and  slav 
ery  synonyms  to  the  poor  heathen — and  where  these 
offered  opposition  to  the  rapacious  demands  of  their 


24  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

Christian  conquerors,  hesitated  not  to  hunt  them 
down  as  godless  pagans  deserving  of  death. 

Well,  children,  God  often  works  by  strange  agents. 
It  is  to  these  same  heartless  vagabonds,  intent  only 
upon  filling  their  pockets  with  golden  wealth,  that 
we  owe  much  of  our  knowledge  of  the  world  at  this 
time. 

And  so  I  suppose,  although  I  have  been  able  to 
find  nothing  on  the  subject,  that  when  Lawrence  Al 
meida  and  his  successors  landed  upon  the  island, 
they  took  possession  of  it,  and  considered  it  hence 
forth  as  another  jewel  in  the  crown  of  Portugal. 
Almeida  named  it  the  Isle  St.  Lawrence ;  but  beyond 
occasionally  anchoring  in  its  bays,  neither  the  Por 
tuguese  nor  the  Dutch  (who  also  had  knowledge  of 
it)  made  much  use  of  it. 

The  first  attempt  to  found  a  colony  on  the  island 
was  made  by  the  French  in  1642,  under  a  patent 
granted  by  the  celebrated  Cardinal  Richelieu.  He 
authorized  the  merchants  who  held  the  patent  to 
send  thither  ships  and  forces,  and  establish  a  colony, 
plantations,  and  commerce ;  never  thinking,  howev 
er,  of  asking  the  permission  of  the  inhabitants  to 
perform  all  this.  So  the  colony  did  not  prosper,  the 
colonists  being  weak  and  without  resources,  while 
the  natives  were  numerous,  jealous  of  their  rights, 
and  cunning  in  resistance ;  and  I  suppose  that  then, 
as  now,  the  climate  was  very  fatal  to  Europeans, 
and  formed  the  best  defense  for  the  natives  against 
the  encroachment  of  strangers. 


OPPRESSION  BY  THE  FRENCH.        25 

A  Mr.  Flacourt,  who  was  governor  of  the  colony 
tor  a  number  of  years,  published,  in  1655,  A  His 
tory  of  Madagascar,  which  is  the  most  complete  we 
have,  and  from  which  late  writers  have  taken  large 
ly.  I  suppose  he  had  gone  to  France  to  publish 
this  book,  for  on  his  return  from  that  country  to 
Madagascar  in  1659  his  ship  was  lost  in  a  violent 
storm,  and  he  and  all  his  crew  were  drowned. 

The  French,  who  are,  as  you  know,  as  a  nation, 
joined  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  brought  Jes 
uit  missionaries  with  them  to  their  colony  in  order 
to  convert  the  natives  to  Christianity.  But  these 
Jesuits,  instead  of  emulating  the  mild  and  gentle 
conduct  of  our  Savior  and  his  disciples,  were  arro 
gant,  and  disposed  to  tyrannize  over  the  minds  and 
bodies  of  the  poor,  ignorant  islanders.  These,  jeal 
ous  from  the  first  of  the  advances  of  the  strangers, 
soon  hated  their  tyrants,  and,  on  occasion  of  a  spe 
cially  obnoxious  action  on  the  part  of  one  Father 
Stephen,  rose  upon  the  colony,  and  murdered  a  large 
number  of  the  French.  This  was,  I  believe,  in  1666. 

Another  governor  was  shortly  sent  out,  but  he 
found  matters  in  such  a  hopeless  state  that,  in  1672, 
he  left  the  island.  The  Jesuits,  the  cause  of  all  flfce 
disturbance  and  ill  success,  presently  followed  him. 
Seeing  this,  the  neighboring  native  chiefs  rose  upon 
the  small  garrison  and  colony,  and  massacred  them 
all  except  a  few  who  saved  themselves  on  board  the 
vessels,  which  had  not  yet  left  the  bay.  Thus  the 
island  was  once  more  free. 


26  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

The  next  attempt  at  colonization  was  made  in 
1745,  again  by  the  French,  and  under  the  auspices 
of  the  French  East  India  Company.  The  Isle  of 
St.  Mary,  on  the  eastern  coast,  was  the  point  select 
ed.  The  bigotry  and  intolerance  of  the  Jesuits  who 
accompanied  the  new  colony  again  procured  it  the 
hostility  of  the  natives.  On  Christmas  eve  of 
1754,  nine  years  after  its  formation,  the  natives  rose 
and  massacred  every  person  belonging  to  it. 

Another  Frenchman,  Count  Beniowski,  was  sent 
out  in  1773  to  form  a  colony  in  Antorigil  Bay.  He 
met  with  much  opposition  from  the  French  on  the 
Isle  of  France,  who  were  jealous  of  his  success. 
Having  ingratiated  himself  with  the  natives,  and 
finding  the  French  his  persevering  enemies,  he  form 
ed  the  romantic  idea  of  laying  in  Madagascar  the 
foundation  of  an  independent  kingdom.  He  pro 
posed  himself,  of  course,  as  sovereign,  persuading 
the  simple-hearted  natives  that  he  was  descended 
from  a  princess  of  Madagascar  who  had  been  held  ' 
in  slavery  in  the  Isle  of  France.  He  succeeded  in 
having  himself  declared  king,  under  the  title  of  Am- 
pausacabe ;  and,  having  appointed  officers  to  carry 
o*  the  government  in  his  absence,  proceeded  to  visit 
France  and  England,  with  the  purpose  of  enlisting 
one  of  those  powers  in  his  favor.  Not  succeeding  in 
this,  he  sailed  for  the  United  States,  where  he  pro 
cured  stores  and  arms,  and  returned  to  his  kingdom 
in  July,  1785. 

His  first  act  was  to  seize  upon  all  the  French 


ANTONGIL   BAY.  27 

posts  on  the  island.  This  procured  him  the  imme 
diate  hostility  of  the  French,  who  sent  a  frigate  to 
Antongil  Bay  to  destroy  his  settlement.  Beniowski 
was  killed  in  the  first  engagement,  and  with  him  his 
kingdom  came  to  an  end.  The  settlement  was 
broken  up;  and  when  I  was  in  the  bay  in  1852,  no 
traces  of  it  remained  except  a  very  violent  enmity 
of  the  natives  to  all  foreigners.  So  hostile  were 
they,  that  they  would  not,  indeed,  permit  us  to  set 
foot  upon  the  main  island,  often  following  our  boats 
for  days  along  the  shore,  ready,  with  spears  and 
bows,  to  resist  our  encroachments. 

As  we  had  gone  there  to  seek  for  whales,  we 
cared  little  for  their  hostility,  although  we  should 
have  liked  to  procure  some  fresh  beef  of  them.  To 
our  application  to  sell  us  some  of  the  bullocks  we 
saw  feeding  on  the  plains  near  the  water-side,  they 
answered  that  no  communication  would  be  held,  and 
if  we  at  any  time  came  within  reach  of  their  spears, 
we  would  suffer  an  attack.  A  little  uninhabited 
island  in  the  large  bay  was  our  only  refuge.  Here 
we  procured  fresh  water;  but,  as  it  was  covered 
with  a  dense  jungle,  we  never  explored  it,  content 
ing  ourselves  with  sailing  around  its  unpromising 
shores.  The  woods  seemed  to  abound  in  large  ser 
pents,  of  which  we  killed  some  every  day,  although 
we  never  ventured  more  than  a  hundred  yards  from 
the  water's  edge. 

Had  we  had  leisure,  no  doubt  we  should  have  as- 
the  mountain  which  forms  the  main  part  of 


28  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

this  island ;  but  poor  whalemen  are  obliged  to  work 
from  daylight  to  dark,  and  have  not  even  a  resting 
day  on  Sabbath,  so  that  we  never  got  an  opportu 
nity  for  an  exploration  which  many  wished  to  make. 
We  saw  a  few  monkeys  while  on  the  island,  and 
whenever  we  had  killed  a  whale,  and  his  carcass  had 
drifted  ashore,  our  rest  was  disturbed  by  the  hideous 
cries  of  wild-cats  quarreling  over  the  booty ;  but 
these  retired  before  daylight,  so  that  we  never  saw 
any. 

Altogether,  it  was  a  very  dreary,  uncomfortable 
place.  It  rained  every  day  from  early  morning  till 
twelve  o'clock — not  such  light  showers  as  you  have 
here,  children,  but  pouring  down,  as  it  were,  in 
sheets  of  water ;  and,  as  sailors  don't  use  umbrellas, 
of  course  there  was  not  a  day  on  which  we  were  not 
wet  through :  all  which  led  me  to  the  conclusion 
that,  while  there  were  so  many  more  comfortable 
and  beautiful  countries  in  the  world,  I  would  not 
like  to  live  in  Madagascar. 

After  the  destruction  of  Beniowski's  settlement 
and  kingdom,  no  farther  attempts  at  colonization  ap 
pear  to  have  been  made  for  many  years.  Mean 
time,  however,  both  the  French  and  British  main 
tained  commercial  relations  with  the  islanders ;  and 
we  are  told  that  during  this  period  many  traders 
penetrated  to  the  interior,  and,  uniting  their  inter 
ests  with  those  of  the  natives,  prospered,  and  were 
kindly  treated.  Had  these  traders  possessed  educa 
tion,  they  could  have  rendered  important  service  to 


THE    SLAVE-TRADK.  29 

the  cause  of  civilization  by  giving  to  the  world  such 
information  as  they  could  easily  have  collected  in 
their  commercial  enterprises  in  the  interior.  This, 
children,  shows  the  importance  of  a  good  education 
to  men  in  any  rank  or  position  of  life,  as  well  as  the 
duty  all  of  us  owe  to  our  fellow-men,  as  to  our 
selves,  to  so  cultivate  our  minds  as  to  enable  us  to 
make  use  of  all  opportunities  for  doing  good. 

And  now  I  must  tell  you  of  a  part  of  the  history 
of  Madagascar  which  civilized  men  can  not  look  on 
without  deep  melancholy.  This  is  its  once  exten 
sive  connection  with  the  horrid  slave-trade.  You 
have  heard  how,  for  some  hundreds  of  years,  many 
thousands  of  the  poor  benighted  inhabitants  of  Af 
rica  have  been  torn  from  their  dear  homes — hus 
bands  separated  from  their  wives,  fathers  and  moth 
ers  from  their  little  children,  brothers  from  sisters — 
to  be  carried  off  into  slavery  in  countries  laying 
claim  to  civilization.  There  was  a  time  when  our 
own  dear  country  received  slaves  from  Africa.  All 
the  colored  people  you  meet  are  the  descendants  of 
poor  Africans  who  were  dragged  from  their  homes 
by  wicked  white  men,  and  sold  to  equally  wicked 
people  here,  for  whom  they  were  made  to  labor  with 
out  recompense.  "We  should  thank  God,  who  put  it 
into  the  heads  of  wise  men,  who  lived  when  our 
country  was  still  young,  to  abolish  this  sinful  trade 
in  the  bodies  and  souls  of  our  fellows. 

About  the  year  1710,  a  number  of  pirates  infest 
ed  the  Indian  seas,  making  the  outward-bound  In- 


30  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

diamen  generally  a  rich  and  easy  booty.  These 
sea-robbers  found  it  necessary  to  secure  themselves 
head-quarters  on  some  of  the  but  little  visited  isl 
ands  along  the  African  coast,  where  they  could  refit 
their  vessels,  obtain  occasional  supplies  of  provisions, 
and  secure  the  ill-gotten  spoils  of  their  murders  and 
robberies.  Johanna,  one  of  the  Comoro  Isles,  which 
lie  just  to  the  north  of  Madagascar,  was  for  some 
time  the  principal  haunt  of  the  notorious  Captain 
Kyd.  He  there  built  a  fort,  in  which  he  deposited 
much  treasure.  This  fort  I  have  visited.  It  is  now 
a  ruin ;  and  once,  when  there,  a  party  of  sailors,  of 
whom  I  was  one,  had  a  sham  battle  there,  another 
party  attempting  to  drive  us  from  it,  and  we  defend 
ing  the  broken  walls  as  well  as  we  could. 

After  Captain  Kyd  was  driven  away,  the  Arabs 
took  possession  of  the  fort.  They  hold  it  now,  and 
it  is  much  frequented  by  whale-ships,  who  go  thither 
to  procure  supplies  of  fruit,  with  which  the  little  isl 
and  abounds.  The  Isle  St.  Mary,  a  mile  or  two  dis 
tant  from  the  coast  of  Madagascar,  was  for  a  long 
time  another  haunt  of  pirates.  French  and  British 
men-of-war  finally  drove  them  from  here,  and  they 
dispersed  to  various  parts  of  the  world.  A  consid 
erable  number,  however,  retired  to  the  interior  of 
the  island,  and  there  gave  a  start  to  the  slave-trade 
by  exciting  wars  among  the  different  chiefs,  and 
persuading  the  victorious  party  to  bring  their  prison 
ers  to  the  sea-shore  to  be  sold  as  slaves.  Although 
the  French  and  British  would  not  allow  pirating 


HOW     .-I.AYKS    WKKI-:     l'i:«  "   I   Kl  I>  31 

upon  the  high  seas,  they  readily  bought  the  poor 
prisoners  whom  these  pirates  brought  them  as  slaves, 
conveying  them  afar  off  to  their  colonies,  and,  among 
others,  doubtless  to  America. 

I  think  the  year  1721  witnessed  the  commence 
ment  of  this  trade  in  Madagascar.  At  that  time  all 
civilized  maritime  nations  were  engaged  in  the  slave- 
trade,  and  many  of  the  richest  merchants  in  England 
derived  their  chief  wealth  from  a  traffic  which  was 
considered  lawful  and  perhaps  right. 

The  pirates — now  turned  slave-dealers — lost  no 
occasion  for  advancing  their  cruel  trade.  They  in 
dustriously  fomented  wars  among  the  various  tribes 
and  chiefs  in  the  island,  who  had,  before  this,  lived 
in  peace.  They  excited  the  cupidity  of  private  in 
dividuals,  and  thus  procured  them  to  make  slaves 
of  their  friends  and  even  relatives  by  treachery ;  and 
in  a  short  time  they  had  so  worked  upon  the  minds 
of  the  simple-hearted  savages,  that  we  are  told  the 
capturing  of  slaves  became  the  principal  business  of 
the  entire  country,  and  he  who  could  tear  the  great 
est  number  of  men,  women,  and  children  from  their 
homes,  to  be  sold  into  wretchedness,  was  considered 
the  greatest  man. 

War  was,  of  course,  the  principal  method  of  se 
curing  slaves.  Here  the  great  aim  was  to  take  a 
vast  number  of  prisoners  to  be  sent  to  the  co:ir-t. 
But  every  one  could  not  make  war,  and  so  other 
plans  were  invented.  People  passing  along  a  road 
would  be  hospitably  invited  into  a  house  to  rest 


02  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

themselves  and  take  something  to  eat,  as  is  the  fash 
ion  in  many  parts  of  Asia  and  Africa;  but  no  soon 
er  would  the  travelers  enter  than  they  would  find 
the  floor  giving  way,  and  themselves  precipitated 
into  a  pit  dug  for  the  purpose.  There  they  were 
easily  disarmed  and  bound,  and  then  slavery  was 
their  fate. 

Next  a  law  was  passed  that  if  a  man  owed  anoth 
er  money  and  was  unable  to  pay  it,  he  should  be 
sold  into  slavery ;  and  then  rich  men  made  it  their 
business  to  go  about  offering  to  lend  money,  with 
the  hope  that  those  who  borrowed  would  not  be 
able  to  repay  it.  Thus,  for  so  small  a  sum  as  half 
a  dollar  or  a  dollar,  with  a  very  heavy  interest  an 
nexed,  many  poor  people  lost  their  liberty ;  for  you 
must  remember  that  in  those  savage  countries  mon 
ey  is  not  by  any  means  so  plentiful  as  with  us,  and 
no  friend  could  be  found,  often,  to  save  from  slavery 
by  the  loan  of  half  a  dollar  even. 

We  read,  too,  that  bands  of  robbers  went  about 
the  country,  lying  in  wait  for  and  kidnapping  inno 
cent  travelers,  so  that  shortly  it  became  quite  haz 
ardous  to  stir  from  home  at  all,  and  those  who  had 
business  at  a  distance  doubtless  took  sorrowful  leave 
of  their  wives  and  little  children  when  they  set  off 
to  attend  to  it,  not  knowing  if  they  would  ever  re 
turn. 

Thus,  not  only  the  pirates  and  other  wicked  Eu 
ropeans  were  engaged  in  the  slave-trade,  but  great 
numbers  of  the  natives  made  it  their  business,  and 


TAMATAVK.  33 

were  interested  in  its  propagation.  The  whole  isl 
and  was  a  scene  of  misery.  Families  were  torn 
asunder  at  a  moment's  warning,  and  sons  saw  pa 
rents,  husbands  wives,  and  parents  children  carried 
off,  without  warning  or  possibility  of  rescue,  to  a 
fate  which  seemed  to  them  more  cruel  than  death. 

Tamatave — of  which  I  will  tell  you  something 
more  by-and-by — was  the  chief  port  of  embarkation 
for  slaves,  and,  as  a  memorial  of  the  sorrows  often 
felt  by  the  poor  islanders,  a  hill  near  the  town,  from 
which  they  first  beheld  the  sea  on  their  way  from 
inland,  is  to  this  day  called  "  The  Weeping-place  of 
the  Hovahs." 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  the  state  of  affairs  brought 
about  by  these  heartless  miscreants  must  prejudice 
the  people  of  the  island  against  all  Europeans.  See 
ing  none  but  the  slave-dealers  and  their  accom 
plices,  they  judged  all  white  men  to  be  wicked.  So 
little  did  they  understand  the  purposes  even  for 
which  the  whites  desired  slaves,  that  it  soon  came 
to  be  generally  believed  that  the  Europeans  were 
cannibals,  and  thus  the  fate  of  relatives  who  had 
been  borne  into  slavery  was  surrounded  with  addi 
tional  horror.  Had  not  the  white  slave  -  dealers, 
with  Satanic  cunning,  enlisted  the  chiefs  and  prin 
cipal  men  of  the  nation  in  their  favor  by  making 
them  sharers  in  their  profits,  doubtless  the  natives 
would  themselves  have  put  a  stop  to  the  traffic  ;  but 
so  strongly  did  their  cupidity  act  in  quelling  all 
feelings  of  common  humanity,  that  when  the  British 


34  STOKIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD.      • 

government,  in  1817,  by  its  agent,  arranged  a  treaty 
for  the  abolition  of  the  iniquitous  trade,  the  most 
strenuous  opposition  was  made  by  influential  na 
tives  who  were  largely  interested  in  its  continuance. 

We  can  not  tell  how  many  poor  human  beings 
were  sent  out  of  the  country  into  slavery  and  wretch 
edness  during  the  hundred  years  in  which  Madagascar 
was  a  vast  slave  mart ;  but,  at  a  very  moderate  com 
putation,  the  number  could  not  have  been  less  than 
three  or  four  thousand  per  annum,  or,  all  together, 
between  three  and  four  hundred  thousand.  But  this 
total,  though  a  frightful  amount  in  a  country  num 
bering  less  than  five  millions  of  inhabitants,  shows 
us  but  a  very  small  portion  of  the  misery  and  want 
produced  by  the  traffic,  or  the  violence  and  cruelty 
necessary  to  its  perpetuation. 

In  1816,  while  the  slave-trade  was  still  carried 
on,  though  perhaps  not  so  actively  as  in  previous 
years  (for  Great  Britain  had  now  abolished  slavery 
in  all  her  dominions),  Radama,  Madagascar's  great 
est  king,  sent  his  two  younger  brothers  to  the  neigh 
boring  Isle  of  France  to  be  educated  under  the  aus 
pices  of  Sir  Robert  Farquhar,  the  governor  of  that 
island.  The  following  year  a  British  agent  was 
sent  to  Tananarivou,  and  on  the  9th  of  October  of 
that  year,  amid  some  opposition  from  the  people,  who 
had  been  consulted  by  the  king  upon  the  matter,  a 
treaty  was  perfected,  whereby  Radama  bound  him 
self  to  put  a  total  stop  to  the  exportation  of  slaves 
from  his  dominions.  To  compensate  the  king  for 


RADAMA'S  TREATY.  35 

the  loss  of  revenue  consequent  upon  the  abolition 
of  this  important  branch  of  trade,  the  British  gov 
ernment  engaged  to  pay  him  annually  §1000  in  gold, 
and  the  same  sum  in  silver,  100  barrels  of  powder, 
and  100  English  muskets,  10,000  flints,  and  400 
•  adi  of  the  following  articles:  red  jackets,  shirts, 
trowsers,  shoes,  soldiers'  caps  and  stocks,  pieces  of 
white  and  pieces  of  blue  cloth,  together  with  12 
sergeants'  swords,  2  horses,  and  a  full-dress  military 
suit  for  the  king.  On  the  part  of  Kadama  the  treaty 
went  into  effect  at  once,  and  we  read  that,  within 
three  months,  three  of  the  near  relatives  of  the  king 
suffered  death  for  its  violation.  On  the  other  side, 
however,  there  was  a  misunderstanding,  and  it  was 
not  till  October  llth,  1820  (when  the  treaty  was 
publicly  renewed),  that  those  feeling  an  interest  in 
the  entire  abolition  of  the  slave  traffic  in  the  island 
considered  it  a  settled  fact. 

And  now,  having  brought  the  history  of  the  isl 
and  up  to  a  time  when  the  missionaries  began  their 
operations,  and  the  Maddegassy,  as  the  natives  are 
called,  may  be  said  to  have  first  come  under  the 
blessed  and  humanizing  influences  of  true  civilization, 
I  must  tell  you  somewhat  of  the  country,  and  of  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  people  among  whom 
they  were  to  labor. 

The  name  Madagascar,  we  are  informed,  is  not 
of  native  origin.  Singularly  enough,  the  natives 
appear  not  to  have  any  especial  name  for  their  isl- 
ar.'l.  but  call  it,  rather  vaguely.  '•/-•""  /••//•//•//  /-//o." 


36  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

which  signifies  "  all  this  entirely ;"  "Ni  tani  rehetra" 
meaning  " all  this  country ;"  "Ny  riaka"  " the  isl 
and  ;"  or  "Ny  univony"  signifying  "  in-the-midst-of- 
the-flood."  Those  who  dwell  upon  the  sea-coast, 
however,  have  learned  of  the  European  traders  and 
settlers  to  call  their  island  and  themselves  Male- 
gash  and  Maddegassy. 

"  I  think  I  must  learn  the  Madagascar  language. 
That  was  some  of  it  you  told  us  just  now,  was  it 
not  ?"  here  interrupted  Albert. 

"  Yes ;  and  by-and-by,  perhaps,  I  will  read  you 
the  Lord's  Prayer  in  Madagascarene,  which  you 
may  learn  by  heart,"  answered  George,  and  then 
continued : 

Geographers  tell  us  that  a  chain  of  mountains 
runs  through  nearly  the  entire  length  of  the  island 
from  north  to  south.  From  these  mountains  issue 
numerous  rivers,  some  of  which  are  said  to  be  nav 
igable  for  a  considerable  distance.  The  level  coun 
try  at  the  base  of  the  hills  is  fertile,  many  kinds  of 
tropical  fruits  and  grains  growing  luxuriantly,  while 
in  portions  dense  jungles  and  woods  cover  the  sur 
face  of  the  earth. 

Of  those  parts  of  the  sea-coast  which  I  have  vis 
ited,  the  eastern  shores  seem  to  be  the  most  fertile 
and  level,  as  well  as  the  most  unhealthy,  while  the 
western  coast  is  in  many  places  high  table -land, 
somewhat  sandy,  but  tolerably  salubrious. 

The  climate  seems  to  be  exceedingly  varied. 
Alon"1  the  sea-shore  it  is  excessively  sultry  and  de- 


SEASONS    OF   THE    YEAR.  37 

bilitating.  The  Madagascar  fever,  a  disease  local  to 
those  shores,  and  a  most  terrible  scourge,  is  as  fhtul 
to  the  natives  of  the  mountains  as  to  Europeans. 
On  the  high  table-lands  of  the  interior  the  heats  are 
not  by  any  means  so  intense,  and  the  natives  are 
not,  from  all  accounts,  subject  to  special  diseases, 
although  the  missionaries  suffered  much  and  fre 
quently  from  fevers.  Indeed,  in  the  mountain  re 
gions,  showers  of  sleet  are  frequent,  and  hoar  frosts 
are  not  unknown.  Along  the  eastern  coast  the  rains 
are  almost  perpetual,  as  I  found  them  on  a  visit  to 
Antongil  Bay  and  the  Isle  of  St.  Mary's.  To  the 
charge  of  these  rains  and  the  subsequent  extreme 
heats  may  be  laid  the  existence  of  the  fevers  so  fa 
tal  to  strangers. 

In  the  interior  there  is  an  annual  rainy  season 
of  two  months,  as  is  generally  found  in  the  tropics. 
During  this  rainy  season  the  rain  begins  usually 
about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  lasts  sever 
al  hours,  the  showers  being  very  hard,  accompanied 
with  a  tropical  superabundance  of  thunder  and  light 
ning.  The  balance  of  the  day  is  mostly  fine,  a  thin 
haze  obscuring  the  sun,  and  foretelling  the  gather 
ing  of  the  rain-clouds. 

There  are  four  seasons  of  the  year,  of  which  I 
will  give  you  the  names  in  Maddegassy.  The  spring 
is  called  Lohataona.  This  lasts  one  month  and  a 
half — from  the  budding  of  the  trees  to  the  beginning 
of  the  rains.  During  this  period  the  ground  is  pre 
pared,  and  the  grains  are  planted,  in  preparation  for 


38  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

the  rainy  season,  which  is  called  Fahavaratra,  or 
summer.  The  harvest  they  call  Fiararano,  and  the 
five  months  succeeding,  to  the  festival  of  the  new 
year,  are  called  Rivinano. 

The  Maddegassy  year  is  inaugurated  at  Tananari- 
vou,  the  capital,  by  a  feast.  This  being  begun  each 
year  ten  or  eleven  days  sooner  than  in  the  one  pre 
ceding,  causes  the  Maddegassy  year  to  be  that  much 
shorter  than  ours,  and  makes  a  complete  revolution 
of  the  calendar  about  every  thirty-three  years.  I 
must  remind  you  here,  children,  that,  Madagascar 
being  south  of  the  equator,  the  summer  season  with 
us  becomes  their  winter,  and  their  summer  answers 
to  our  winter.  Thus  the  hoar  frost  and  sleet  which 
are  sometimes  seen  in  the  mountain  regions  of  the 
island  most  likely  occur  during  the  months  of  July 
and  August,  while  in  those  cooler  regions  the  in 
habitants  find  the  weather  warmest  during  Decem 
ber  and  January.  Those  of  you  who  have  paid  at 
tention  to  your  geography  will  understand  the  rea 
son  why  this  is  so. 

From  the  density  of  vegetation  in  the  forests  of 
Madagascar,  which  renders  the  explorations  of  the 
botanist  exceedingly  difficult,  comparatively  little  is 
known  of  the  varieties  of  wood  which  are  indigen 
ous.  Of  grains,  however,  and  cultivated  fruits,  the 
number  or  variety  is  large,  although  not  as  great  as 
in  some  other  parts  of  the  tropics.  Of  precious  or 
useful  trees,  the  forests  afford  the  ebony,  the  caout 
chouc  or  India-rubber  tree,  the  mimosa,  a  glorious 


ANIMALS.  39 

shade  tree,  the  tanyena,  from  the  juice  of  which  :: 
poison  is  prepared,  the  fig,  the  lime,  the  bamboo,  and 
numbers  of  others.  All  the  spices,  as  cinnamon, 
nutmeg,  pepper,  and  cloves,  grow  spontaneously  or 
are  cultivated ;  and,  indeed,  the  climate  is  such  that 
any  not  indigenous  would  grow  readily  if  intro 
duced. 

Birds  are  very  numerous  and  of  great  variety, 
nearly  all  that  we  see  here  being  found  there,  to 
gether  with  a  number  of  splendid  tropical  birds,  con 
spicuous  among  which  is  the  bird  of  Paradise. 

Of  wild  animals,  the  principal  and  most  ferocious 
is  the  wild-cat,  said  to  be  a  beautiful  creature.  Be 
sides  this  there  are  monkeys  of  different  species, 
the  fox,  and  the  large-winged  bat,  or  flying  fox,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called.  Serpents  abound  in  the  woods. 
They  are  chiefly  pf  the  anaconda  species.  While  in 
Antongil  Bay  we  used  to  kill  several  every  time  we 
went  into  the  woods  of  the  little  island  near  which 
our  vessel  lay  at  anchor.  Crocodiles  are  said  to 
abound  in  the  rivers.  Other  tropical  drawbacks  to 
enjoyment  are  not  wanting,  such  as  centipedes,  scor 
pions,  and  poisonous  spiders. 

There  is  also  a  curious  species  of  lizard,  which  has 
a  set  of  air-exhausters  upon  its  back,  by  means  of 
which  it  is  enabled  to  cling  to  any  object  with  which 
it  brings  itself  in  contact.  This  animal  is  said  to 
drop  from  trees  upon  travelers  passing  beneath,  and 
to  cling  so  tightly  as  to  make  an  excision  of  the  skin 
necessary  to  get  rid  of  if. 


40  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Of  domestic  animals  the  horned  cattle  are  the 
chief.  Of  these  many  of  the  islanders  own  immense 
herds,  and  in  them  consists  their  chief  wealth.  In 
St.  Augustine  Bay,  particularly,  one  hears  the  na 
tives  boast  in  broken  English  of  this  kind  of  wealth. 
Thus  a  chief  who  visited  our  vessel,  to  give  the  cap 
tain  a  better  idea  of  his  rank  and  station,  said  im 
pressively,  "Me  more  biggee  the  man,  cap'n ;  me 
got  plenty  bullock — so  many  thousand,"  holding  up 
both  hands  ;  "all  more  biggee  the  bullock,  long  the 
horn,  biggee  the  hump." 

The  cattle  are  of  enormous  size,  and  have  very 
large,  straight  horns,  and  curious  humps  upon  the 
back  of  their  necks,  which  vibrate  from  one  side  to 
the  other  as  they  run. 

Besides  cattle  they  have  abundance  of  sheep, 
goats,  and  swine.  The  latter,  however,  are  eaten 
only  by  the  poorer  classes.  Chickens  are  also  very 
abundant,  as  are  geese  and  ducks. 

But  it  is  in  the  large  hump  cattle  that  the  chief 
wealth  of  Madagascar  consists.  Immense  herds  of 
these  are  scattered  over  the  plains,  and  in  caring  for, 
feeding,  and  fattening  them  a  great  majority  of  the 
natives  find  employment.  I  presume  that  beef  has 
always  been  among  the  chief  articles  of  subsistence. 
It  is  called  hena,  meat,  all  other  kinds  of  meat  being 
called  by  the  animal's  name  from  which  it  is  derived. 
They  take  great  pride  in  fat  oxen,  feeding  them  in 
stalls,  much  as  farmers  and  butchers  do  prize  oxen 
in  this  country.  The  cattle  are  generally  allowed 


THE    FA1HTKA. 


41 


to  run  on  the  pasture  during  the  day,  but  every 
evening  are  secured  in  an  inclosure  called  a  fahitra. 
This  fahitra  is  described  to  us  as  a  large  square 
pit,  about  five  feet  deep,  dug  out  in  front  of  the  res 
idence  of  the  cattle-owner.  Into  this  the  cattle  are 
driven,  and  there  often  they  are  fattened.  In  pur 
suance  of  the  latter  object,  a  curious  fashion  prevails 
of  raising  the  racks  which  contain  food  for  the  cattle 
to  such  a  height  that  these,  when  they  desire  to  eat, 
shall  be  obliged  to  stand  with  their  fore  legs  upon  a 
platform,  as  you  see  represented  below.  The  natives 
believe  that  this  accelerates  the  fattening  process. 


' 


•  tf^  _  f 


MANNER   OF   FEEDING    CATTLE    IN    MADAGASCAR. 


42  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WOULD. 

Of  cattle,  besides  those  used  for  home  consump 
tion,  large  quantities  used  to  be  exported  from  all 
parts  of  the  island  to  the  islands  of  Mauritius  and 
Bourbon.  A  stop  was  put,  however,  many  years 
ago,  to  this  trade  by  the  queen.  Although  it  never 
altogether  ceased,  yet  it  was  much  diminished  when 
I  was  in  the  Mauritius. 

The  tribe  who  reside  in  the  vicinity  of  the  cap 
ital  do  not  eat  pork,  and  no  swine  are  brought  to 
that  part  of  the  country.  It  is  the  darker-colored 
tribes  that  use  pork.  These  also  eat  the  goat,  the 
monkey,  and  the  hedgehog. 

Besides  the  eggs  of  various  species  of  fowl,  croc 
odiles'  eggs  are  eaten  and  relished,  great  quantities 
being  often  gathered  for  family  use  from  the  sands  in 
which  they  are  deposited.  Locusts  and  grasshop 
pers  are  also  eaten ;  and  when,  at  a  certain  season 
of  the  year,  the  locusts  ravage  the  country  in  vast 
swarms,  the  natives  catch  them  with  wide,  shallow 
baskets.  After  boiling  them,  and  winnowing,  to 
clear  them  of  the  legs  and  wings,  which  are  consid 
ered  unfit  to  eat,  they  are  packed  in  baskets,  and 
taken  to  market  for  sale.  Silk-worms  in  the  chrys 
alis  state  are  also  used  as  food. 

Having  given  you  a  list  of  the  various  kinds  of 
animal  food  used  by  the  Maddegassy,  we  will  now 
speak  more  particularly  of  the  grains  and  vegetables 
they  use.  First  among  these  undoubtedly  stands 
rice.  You  must  know,  children,  that  in  the  East 
Indies  the  people  do  not  make  use  of  bread.  There 


%          RICE.  43 

are  probably  millions  of  men,  women,  and  children 
who  have  never  seen  a  loaf  of  bread,  and  don't  know 
how  it  tastes.  You  may  think  it  very  easy  to  do 
without ;  but  if  you  were  to  try  it  once  for  two  or 
three  weeks,  even  with  plenty  else  to  eat,  you  would 
find  it  very  difficult,  and  would  declare,  as  I  did 
when  once  I  had  to  live  among^  people  who  did  not 
use  it,  that,  however  much  else  there  may  be  on  the 
table,  it  is  impossible  to  make  a  good  meal  without 
bread. 

Well,  instead  of  our  wheat,  or  rye,  or  com  bread, 
the  Maddegassy,  in  common  with  many  of  the  East 
Indian  nations,  use  rice.  You  must  not  think  they 
make  it  into  a  pudding,  such  as  Albert  likes  so  well, 
or  even  that  they  eat  it  with  milk  and  sugar,  in 
which  way  Fanny,  I  believe,  relishes  it  very  much. 
The  Maddegassy  simply  boil  it  in  water,  and,  when 
done,  set  it  on  the  table,  to  be  eaten  without  sauce 
of  any  kind.  Prepared  in  this  way,  they  like  it, 
and  consider  it  the  "staff"  of  life" — that  is  to  say, 
the  chief  and  most  important  food  of  man.  All 
other  kinds  of  food  are  thought  only  secondary  to 
this.  Even  beef,  the  most  highly  esteemed  of  all 
animal  food,  is  regarded  as  only  an  accompani 
ment.  Accordingly,  they  call  rice  "»/«///<//>//•//," 
that  is,  "  able  to  satisfy  the  appetite ;"  and  as,  in 
our  country,  we  ask  people  to  u  break  brrad  with 
us,"  meaning  that  they  are  desired  to  partake  of  a 
meal,  so  a  Madagascar  man  says,  "Eat  rice  with 
us." 


44  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLANp    WOULD. 

Albert.  I  mean  to  try  if  I  can  do  without  bread 
for  a  week. 

George.  Well,  you  may  try.  I  think  you  will 
find  it  difficult. 

Josephine.  We  will  all  watch  Albert.  You  are 
not  to  eat  bread  for  a  week,  remember,  sir. 

Albert.  I  think  I  can  do  without  it;  but  mother 
will  have  to  cook  me  some  rice  every  day,  or  else  it 
would  not  be  a  fair  trial  for  me. 

George.  We  will  see  how  you  can  stand  it.  But 
suppose  you  take  potatoes,  instead  of  rice,  as  a  substi 
tute  for  bread.  And  now,  as  rice  forms  so  important 
an  article  of  food  for  the  natives  of  Madagascar,  I 
think  I  will  tell  you  something  about  the  manner 
of  its  cultivation.  Before  doing  this,  I  will  just  tell 
you  that  all  the  rice  raised  in  the  Southern  States — 
Georgia  and  the  Carolinas — is  sprung  from  half  a 
bushel  of  an  extra  large  quality,  brought  to  Charles 
ton  in  1696  from  Madagascar  by  a  vessel  which  put 
in  there  to  obtain  a  supply  of  provisions ;  so  that 
you  see  even  our  country  is  indebted  to  that  far-off 
island  for  something  valuable. 

Although  so  much  land  is  cultivated,  and  so  large 
a  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  are  farmers,  they 
have  but  few  agricultural  implements,  and  these 
only  of  the  rudest  forms.  Neither  plows,  nor  har 
rows,  nor  hoes,  nor  scythes  are  known ;  and  as  for 
cultivators,  and  feed  -  cutters,  and  winnowing  ma 
chines,  and  harvesters,  none  of  these  are  ever  thought 
of.  They  have  no  working  cattle,  and  before  the 


STATE   OF   AGRICULTURE.  45 

mi.-.-ionaries  came  to  the  island,  horses  were  almost, 
it'  not  quite,  unknown.  Wheel-carriages  the  French 
first  introduced,  and  of  these  there  are  even  now 
but  very  few  upon  the  island,  so  that  nearly  all  the 
produce  of  the  farm  must  be  carried  to  its  place  of 
deposit  on  the  heads  of  the  laborers. 

What  a  dreadful  state  of  affairs  it  would  be  if  all 
the  wheat,  and  corn,  and  potatoes  raised  in  the 
United  States  had  to  be  brought  from  the  fields  to 
the  barns,  and  from  the  barns  to  the  markets,  on 
the  heads  or  backs  of  the  poor  farmers  and  their 
hired  hands!  I  am  sure  we  ought  to  thank  God 
for  the  blessing  of  being  born  in  a  civilized  land ; 
and  I  will  add  that  the  most  effectual  way  of  thank 
ing  the  good  Lord  for  his  mercies  seems  to  me  to  be 
to  contribute,  each  of  us  his  mite,  toward  spread 
ing  these  blessings  among  our  less-civilized  fellow- 
men. 

Although  so  much  of  the  land  is  made  use  of  for 
farming  purposes,  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  no  one 
owns  any  regular  quantity.  The  one  who  comes 
first  takes  possession  of  as  much  as  he  can  use, 
much  as  in  our  Western  Territories  farmers  can  set 
tle  down  any  where  and  own  the  land  they  settle 
upon — with  this  difference,  however,  that  the  poor 
Madagascar  farmer  must  pay  a  yearly  tribute  to  the 
chief  of  his  district,  who  claims  some  kind  of  right 
to  all  the  soil.  If  the  first  occupant  should  quit  the 
land,  any  one  who  comes  along  may  take  possession, 
but  no  one  h>  allowed  to  take  what  is  already  used 


46  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

by  another.  As  the  labor  is  so  severe,  women,  as 
well  as  men,  work  in  the  fields. 

The  dry  season  occurs  just  after  the  rice  harvest. 
During  this  season,  but  some  months  after  the  crop 
has  been  carried  home,  the  fields  are  dug  up  with 
rude  native  spades,  often  made  altogether  of  wood. 
They  do  not  spade  the  ground  as  our  gardeners  do, 
simply  turning  it  over  and  loosening  it,  but  dig  it 
up  in  clods  twelve  or  eighteen  inches  square.  These 
clods  are  piled  one  upon  another,  something  like 
bricks  in  a  brick-yard,  and  thus  they  become  per 
fectly  dry,  and  the  weeds  in  them  are  killed,  having 
no  moisture  to  nourish  them. 

When  they  have  lain  long  enough  to  dry,  the 
earth  is  again  made  level,  and  manure  is  mixed  with 
it,  I  must  tell  you  that  it  is  necessary  to  lead  small 
streams  of  water  through  rice-fields,  with  which, 
when  necessary,  the  whole  field  can  be  overflowed. 
Narrow  trenches  are  for  this  purpose  dug  around 
the  borders  of  the  fields,  and  water  from  neighbor 
ing  brooks  or  rivers  led  into  them.  By  stopping  up 
the  lower  ends  of  these  trenches,  the  water  accumu 
lates  so  as  by-and-by  to  cover  the  entire  field.  Aft 
er  this  is  done  the  clods  are  broken  up  very  finely, 
and  then,  all  being  smooth  and  level,  the  water  is 
again  allowed  to  barely  cover  it,  and  the  farmer  goes 
over  it  and  sows  his  rice  broadcast  upon  this  water. 

William.  I  suppose  that  is  why  it  says  in  the 
Scriptures,  "  Cast  your  bread  upon  the  waters,  and 
you  shall  find  it  again  after  many  days." 


RICE   CULTURE.  47 

George.  I  think  likely  it  is  from  this  manner  of 
cultivating  rice  that  the  metaphor  originated.  The 
month  of  September,  when  many  of  the  trees  put 
out  their  blossoms,  is  considered  the  commencement 
of  spring,  and  during  this  month  the  rice  is  sown. 
After  this  operation  is  finished  the  water  is  let  ofi^ 
and  some  fine  manure  or  mould  is  scattered  over  the 
ground.  After  two  or  three  days,  when  the  little 
germ  begins  to  break  through  the  surface,  water  is 
again  let  on ;  and  when,  shortly  after,  this  is  again 
drained  off,  the  rice  makes  its  appearance  above 
ground. 

"\Vhen  the  rains  commence,  in  October  or  Novem 
ber,  the  rice-plants  (by  this  time  from  five  to  seven 
inches  high)  are  transplanted  into  other  fields,  for  at 
first  they  have  been  sown  much  too  thickly  to  grow 
well.  Less  care  is  used  in  preparing  these  new 
fields.  In  most  cases  a  number  of  cattle  are  driven 
over  the  damp  ground,  breaking  and  softening  the 
moist  sods,  and  this  is  all  the  preliminary  cultivation 
the  soil  receives.  The  rice-plants  are  now  given  to 
the  women,  who  set  them  in  the  mud  seven  or  eight 
inches  apart.  With  the  addition  of  an  occasional 
flooding  of  the  fields  and  diligent  weeding  till  the 
young  plants  have  taken  a  start,  nothing  more  is 
needed  till  the  crop  is  ready  for  harvesting. 

The  grain  has,  however,  yet  some  dangers  to  pass 
through.  It  may  be  injured  by  blight  or  mildew,  or 
by  hail-storms  and  strong  winds,  or  locusts  or  other 
•li-^tructivc  insects  may  kill  it.  We  are  told  that 


48  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    AVOKLD. 

the  locusts  frequently  commit  great  ravages,  in  a 
single  day  destroying  all  the  poor  husbandman's  la 
bor  of  months.  If  all  these  dangers  are  safely 
passed,  if  the  season  is  good,  and  the  ground  was 
well  prepared,  the  return  is  bountiful.  One  bushel 
of  rice  will,  in  such  case,  yield  one  hundred  bushels ; 
and  so  great  a  number  of  stalks  are  sometimes  pro 
duced  from  a  single  seed  as  that  the  reaper  shall  be 
unable  with  one  grasp  to  gather  them  in  his  hand. 

When  the  beautiful  fields  of  grain  are  ready  to 
be  harvested,  then  is  the  most  joyful  season  for  the 
Maddegassy  husbandman.  Then  men,  women,  and 
children  hurry  to  the  fields,  all  eager  to  secure  that 
which  God's  bounty  has  given  them.  No  doubt  the 
poor  people  are  grateful  for  the  mercies  they  receive ; 
but  how  sad  a  reflection  that,  instead  of  rendering 
their  gratitude  to  that  only  true  God  who  is  the  cre 
ator  and  preserver,  the  father  of  all,  they  bow  down 
in  adoration  to  idols,  and  scatter  the  incense  of 
thanks  before  stocks  and  stones !  Let  us  remember 
in  our  prayers,  my  dear  children,  these  poor  benight 
ed  ones  of  the  earth,  who  know  not  the  true  God. 

In  this  country  we  are  beginning  to  think  the  cra 
dle  and  sickle  too  old-fashioned  for  reaping  grain, 
and  in  many  parts  large  reaping  machines  are  used  ; 
yet  the  poor  Maddegassy  has  not  even  a  sickle,  but 
makes  use  of  a  clumsy  knife  to  cut  the  ripe  rice- 
stalks.  Women  and  children  follow  after  the  reaper 
to  tie  up  the  sheaves,  which  are  laid  upon  the  stub 
ble  and  left  for  some  days  to  dry.  Next  the  crop  is 


GRANARIES.  49 

carried  on  the  heads  of  the  laborers  from  the  field  to 
a  vacant  space  left  in  the  vicinity,  which  is  used  as 
a  threshing-floor.  Here  the  grain  is  separated  from 
the  straw  by  beating  it  against  a  stone  arranged  for 
the  purpose.  The  rice  is  then  gathered  from  the 
hard  clay  floor,  and  winnowed  to  separate  it  from 
the  beards  and  broken  straw.  This  winnowing  is 
done  by  standing  in  a  draft  and  throwing  a  small 
portion  of  the  rice  and  chaff  into  the  air.  The  straw 
and  chaff  are  blown  aside,  while  the  grain  falls  by 
superior  weight  into  a  basket,  and  is  again  thrown 
up. 

And  now  comes  the  severest  toil  of  all.  The  rice 
is  to  be  carried  home,  to  be  there  stowed  away  in 
granaries  secure  from  the  intrusion  of  insects  or 
harmful  damp.  It  is  gathered  in  baskets  holding 
about  a  bushel,  and  carried  thus  on  the  heads  of 
slaves  or  laborers  to  the  granary,  which  adjoins  the 
dwelling,  and  is  not  unfrequently  two  or  three  miles 
from  the  field. 

Various  kinds  of  granaries  are  used  by  the  na 
tives.  The  three  principal  or  most  generally  used 
only,  however,  will  be  described.  They  are  all  three 
represented  in  the  engraving  which  you  see  on  the 
following  page.  The  first,  as  you  perceive,  is  a 
house,  built  of  bamboos  or  boards,  and  set  upon 
stout  pillars.  To  prevent  rats  and  other  vermin 
from  ascending  by  these  pillars,  there  is  a  projection 
about  the  middle  of  each,  which  is  made  very  smooth, 
and  upon  which  the  rat  can  not  maintain  his  hold. 
D 


50 


STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 


RICE    GRANARIES   IN   MADAGASCAR. 

The  next  is  a  pit,  from  five  to  six  and  a  half  feet 
in  diameter,  and  seven  or  eight  feet  deep.  The  in 
side  is  lined  with  stiff,  hard  clay,  which  will  effect 
ually  exclude  moisture  and  burrowing  animals.  The 
pit  gradually  narrows  toward  the  top,  somewhat  in 
the  manner  of  a  cistern,  and  its  mouth,  which  is 
quite  small,  is  closed  by  a  stone. 

Another  kind  is  built  entirely  above  ground,  and 
of  clay  which  hardens  in  the  sun.  It  is  conical  in 
form,  and  sometimes  fourteen  or  sixteen  feet  high. 
The  only  entrance  or  aperture  is  at  the  top,  where 
the  rice  is  emptied  in.  This,  too,  is  closed  by  a 


MANIOC.  5 1 

heavy  stone.  The  mode  of  ascent,  as  you  see  by  the 
picture,  is  by  a  stick  in  which  notches  have  been 
cut.  When  rice  is  wanted,  a  little  boy  is  let  down 
from  the  top,  who  fills  as  many  baskets  as  are  re 
quired. 

It  has  taken  me  some  time  to  describe  to  you  the 
manner  in  which  rice  is  cultivated ;  but  I  must  tell 
you  yet  a  little  concerning  the  mode  of  raising  the 
manioc.  This  is  a  root  somewhat  resembling  the 
yam,  or  white  sweet  potato  in  taste,  when  eaten  raw, 
and  forms,  next  to  rice,  the  most  important  article 
of  food  for  the  Maddegassy.  The  ground  is  first 
well  spaded  up  and  broken,  and  then  pieces  of  the 
manioc  stems,  about  a  foot  in  length,  are  thrust  into 
the  mellow  soil,  leaving  about  a  third  of  their  length 
above  ground.  It  is  a  plant  of  slow  growth,  and 
does  not  come  to  perfection  under  sixteen  or  eighteen 
months.  During  this  time  it  is  only  necessary  to 
weed  it  once.  Two  rainy  seasons  must  elapse  be 
tween  planting  and  harvest. 

The  most  general  way  in  which  manioc  is  seen  is 
cut  in  small  pieces  and  dried  in  the  sun.  It  is  then 
light,  tough,  and  slimy.  It  requires  cooking  before 
it  is  eaten.  It  is  much  used  in  many  of  the  islands 
of  the  Indian  Ocean.  I  have  frequently  tried  to  eat 
it,  but  never  found  it  palatable.  The  natives  are 
exceedingly  fond  of  it. 

I  think  it  is  now  time  for  children  to  retire.  To 
morrow  evening  I  will  tell  you  somewhat  of  the 
manners  and  customs,  the  morals  and  religion  of  the 


52  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

Maddegassy,  and  we  will  finish  our  story  of  the  isl 
and  by  an  account  of  the  missionary  labors  among 
these  people,  and  of  the  persecution  of  the  poor 
Christians  by  the  wicked  queen. 

So,  with  a  pleasant  good-night,  the  little  party 
broke  up,  Albert  repeating,  as  he  left  the  room,  his 
determination  to  eat  no  bread  for  a  week  to  come. 


EVENING  THE  SECOND. 

ON  the  next  evening,  the  children  having  gather 
ed  about  Muster  George,  he  continued  his  story : 

I  have  told  you  of  the  animal  and  vegetable  pro 
ductions  of  Madagascar ;  I  will  now  say  something 
of  its  minerals.  It  is  believed  that  gold  has  been 
nowhere  found.  Silver  is  met  with  but  seldom. 
The  most  valuable  mineral  of  all,  however,  iron,  is 
found  to  exist  in  considerable  quantities  in  several 
parts  of  the  island,  and  in  smelting  the  ore  and  work 
ing  the  iron  the  Maddegassy  have  made  considera 
ble  advances,  although,  compared  with  the  modes  in 
use  in  civilized  countries,  theirs  are,  of  course,  yet 
exceedingly  rude. 

In  their  search  after  iron  ore  they  seldom  dig 
deeper  than  five  or  six  feet,  and  oftener  content 
themselves  with  gathering  such  as  is  found  upon  the 
surface  ;  whereas,  you  know,  in  Europe  and  Amer 
ica,  the  miners  often  penetrate  to  a  depth  of  hund 
reds  of  feet.  Having  no  knowledge  of  wheeled  car 
nages,  or  of  beasts  of  burden,  the  labor  of  trans 
porting  iron  and  its  ores  must  be  exceedingly  se 
vere.  We  are  told  that  it  is  carried  from  place  to 
place  on  the  heads  of  slave-. 

The  trade  of  blacksmithing  is  a  very  important 
one,  and  it  appears  that  large  numbers  are  devoted 


54  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND   \VOKLD. 

to  it.  In  some  parts  of  the  island  they  congregate 
in  villages,  but  few  of  other  handicrafts  being  permit 
ted  among  them.  They  make  pots,  spoons,  lamps, 
spears  and  javelins,  knives,  hatchets,  spades,  ham 
mers,  and  chisels.  A  short  time  before  the  arrival 
of  the  missionaries  they  had  invented  nails  ;  but  all 
these  articles  were,  of  course,  very  rudely  and  clum 
sily  made ;  and  I  dare  say,  if  you  could  see  one  of 
their  hatchets  or  hammers,  you  would  scarcely  know 
for  what  they  were  intended,  while  Fanny  or  Al 
bert  would  not  care  to  eat  their  breakfast  or  dinner 
with  the  aid  of  such  spoons  or  knives  as  a  Madagas 
car  blacksmith  would  make. 

I  was  once  in  Bembatooka  Bay,  and  while  there, 
going  on  shore  one  day,  saw  a  native  blacksmith  at 
work.  He  was  chief  of  the  district,  and  had  come 
on  board  on  the  day  of  our  arrival  to  trade,  and  sell 
our  captain  some  oxen.  At  that  time  he  was  dress 
ed  in  the  Arab  costume,  in  a  beautiful  flowing  robe 
of  fine  white  grass-cloth,  with  a  shawl  bound  round 
his  middle,  loose  trowsers  which  were  gathered 
above  his  ankles,  fine  red  shoes,  and  a  turban  made 
of  a  shawl  of  many  brilliant  colors.  He  was  an  old 
man,  with  a  long  beard  and  mustache  as  white  and 
shining  as  snow,  right  handsome  features,  and  a 
piercing  eye.  As  he  moved  majestically  about  the 
decks,  I  thought  I  had  seldom  seen  a  finer  looking 
man. 

The  next  day  I  was  rambling  about  the  shore, 
and  among  the  houses  of  the  little  settlement,  when 


A    MADAUASCAlt    BLACKSMITH. 


55 


a  blacksmith  at  work,  and  walked  up  to  ex 
amine  the  smithy.  The  smith  was  our  chief.  He 
had  laid  aside  his  fine  clothing,  and  now  sat  cross- 
lt 'Li'jvd  upon  the  ground,  arrayed  in  a  loose  and  rag 
ged  garment  resembling  a  night-gown,  with  an  awk 
ward  rag  tied  about  his  head,  and  his  shriveled  legs 
and  arms  perfectly  bare.  The  anvil,  a  tolerably 
large  piece  of  iron,  was  fastened  to  a  heavy  board 
lying  upon  the  ground  on  his  left.  The  fire  was 
immediately  in  front  of  him.  It  was  of  charcoal. 
Between  him  and  the  fire  was  a  large  stone,  through 
which  two  holes  were  pierced,  leading  toward  the 


.- 


MADAGASCAR  WI..V<  K*MHU. 


5G  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

fire.  Into  these  holes  were  inserted  two  bamboos  or 
hollow  canes,  each  of  which  connected  with  a  thin, 
air-tight  leather  sack.  At  the  top  of  each  of  these 
little  sacks  was  a  wooden  disk  containing  a  valve 
opening  inward,  like  the  valve  to  a  pair  of  common 
bellows,  and  a  knob  to  take  hold  of,  in  order  to 
work  the  machine.  Sitting  between  these  two  sacks, 
he  took  a  knob  in  each  hand,  and  alternately  rais 
ing  and  pushing  down  the  disk,  forced  the  air  through 
the  bamboos  against  the  fire. 

He  was  trying  to  hoop  a  bucket  which  he  had 
obtained  of  our  captain.  It  seemed  a  matter  of 
much  difficulty  to  him  to  unite  the  two  ends  of  the 
hoop,  particularly  as  he  had  no  punch  with  which 
to  make  a  hole  for  the  rivet,  nor  even  a  good  rivet, 
but  only  a  very  rude  nail.  Yet  he  worked  patient 
ly,  squatting  on  the  ground,  now  working  the  bellows 
(of  which  you  have  a  picture  on  the  preceding  page), 
and  anon  hammering  at  the  heated  ends  of  the 
hoop. 

Besides  the  workers  in  iron,  there  are  found  in 
Madagascar  goldsmiths,  carpenters,  weavers,  tan 
ners,  potters,  dyers,  and  mat  and  basket  makers. 
Of  course,  most  of  these  handicrafts  are  conducted 
in  an  exceedingly  rude  manner,  and  with  few  tools. 
Weaving  seems  to  be  the  general  occupation  of  the 
women.  The  texture  of  their  cloth,  which  is  made 
of  a  species  of  hemp  and  wool,  is  not  fine,  but  it  is 
much  valued  at  the  Isle  of  France  because  of  its 
durability.  The  women  squat  upon  the  ground 


HAMUi  i;  U  E6.  57 

when  weaving.  The  warp  is  wound  about  rods 
fastened  to  pegs  driven  firmly  into  the  ground,  and 
is  spread  at  a  distance  of  sometimes  but  a  few  inches 
from  the  ground.  The  filling  is  driven  into  its  place 
by  means  of  a  smooth,  round-edged  piece  of  hard 
wood,  moved  by  the  hands,  and  taken  out  at  every 
repassing  of  the  filling.  Wherever  I  had  an  oppor 
tunity  to  go  ashore,  the  better  class  of  the  women 
seemed  to  be  engaged  at  this  loom,  often  simply  su 
perintending  the  operations  of  their  female  slaves, 
at  other  times  applying  themselves.  They  make 
beautiful  mats  of  many  bright  colors,  which  are  used 
to  sleep  on,  instead  of  beds,  as  well  as  for  carpets 
for  the  better  class  of  houses.  They  have  an  art 
of  making  little  baskets  which  are  perfectly  water 
tight.  In  these  they  carry  milk  or  any  other  fluid 
they  may  have. 

Fanny.  Did  you  see  baskets  which  would  hold 
milk  > 

George.  Yes ;  indeed,  I  have  bought  a  basketful 
of  milk  frequently. 

Fanny.  If  you  had  not  seen  it  yourself,  I  would 
scarcely  believe  it. 

George.  The  baskets  are  made  of  very  finely  split 
young  bamboo,  and  look  very  neat.  Previous  to 
their  communication  with  Europeans,  the  natives 
are  said  to  have  had  no  knowledge  of  money.  Ev 
ery  thing  was  conducted  by  barter ;  that  is  to  say, 
if  one  had  any  thing  to  sell,  he  took  it  to  some  one 
who  had  something  else  to  dispose  of,  and  they  then 


58  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WOULD. 

made  a  fair  exchange.  Whale -ships  touching  at 
the  ports  of  Madagascar  still  deal  by  barter,  and  sel 
dom  pay  money  for  any  thing  they  want ;  but  the 
bullock-traders  of  the  neighboring  islands,  Bourbon 
and  Mauritius,  always  pay  for  their  cargoes  in  sil 
ver  dollars. 

I  was  in  a  whale-ship  during  part  of  the  time  I 
spent  about  the  coast  of  Madagascar,  and  there  our 
captain  used  guns,  powder,  scarlet  cloth,  tobacco, 
and  calico  of  bright  colors  for  trade.  In  St.  Augus 
tine  Bay  we  used  to  get  for  a  pound  of  tobacco  a 
dozen  large  fat  chickens,  or  seven  or  eight  turkeys 
or  geese ;  and  for  an  ounce  of  powder  a  native  would 
give  a  very  large  bunch  of  delicious  bananas.  They 
are  always  very  eager  to  obtain  fire-arms  and  pow 
der.  Some  of  our  men  would  mix  charcoal  with 
the  powder,  in  order  to  make  the  small  quantity 
each  could  get  go  farther  in  the  way  of  trade.  When 
the  poor  natives  found  they  were  cheated  in  an  ar 
ticle  on  which  they  placed  so  much  value,  they  were 
very  angry,  and  threatened  to  murder  the  cheaters 
if  they  came  ashore. 

I  must  now  tell  you  something  about  the  dress  of 
the  natives.  The  chief  article  of  apparel  of  the  men 
is  a  strip  of  cotton,  linen,  or  silk,  tied  about  the  mid 
dle,  and  reaching  down  halfway  to  the  knees.  The 
women  wear  a  long  strip  of  cloth,  reaching  from  be 
low  the  neck  to  near  the  ground,  and  simply  wrapped 
once  around  the  body.  The  slaves  and  poorer  free 
people  wear  nothing  but  these  articles.  The  wealth- 


DRESS.  o9 

icr  classes,  or,  rather,  all  who  can  afford  it,  liavo,  IK  - 
sides  these,  a  lamba.  This  is  a  strip  of  cloth  or  silk, 
three  or  four  yards  in  length,  and  two  or  three  in 
breadth.  It  is  wrapped  about  the  body  in  graceful 
folds,  and,  being  edged  with  fringe  of  various  bright 
colors,  gives  the  wearers  a  very  graceful  appearance. 

The  king  and  queen  alone  are  permitted  to  wear 
a  scarl-f  lainha,  that  color  being  allowed  to  no  one 
else.  The  king  also  carries  a  scarlet  umbrella  when 
he  walks  out,  and  it  would  be  counted  treason  for 
any  one  else  to  have  one  of  the  same  color.  Hats 
or  bonnets  are  not  used  at  all,  and  shoes  or  sandals 
but  rarely.  The  women,  who  are  as  fond  of  finery 
as  any  American  ladies,  wear  anklets,  bracelets, 
necklaces,  and  belts,  composed  of  either  gold,  silver, 
ivory,  beads,  or  shells,  and  the  very  poor  people  even 
make  these  ornaments  of  bones ;  as  many  of  our 
ladies,  not  able  to  purchase  real  jewels,  satisfy  their 
vanity  with  shining  bits  of  glass  instead. 

It  is  only  since  their  trade  with  Europeans  has 
commenced  that  the  natives  drink  ardent  spirits. 
But  they  appear  not  to  have  acquired  the  taste  for 
liquor  very  readily,  and,  except  near  the  sea-coast, 
drunkenness  is  a  rare  thing.  Tobacco  is  much  used, 
but  not  for  smoking  or  chewing.  They  make  snuff 
of  it,  which,  being  mixed  with  some  fine-smelling 
herb,  is  put  into  the  mouth,  between  the  lower  lip 
and  the  teeth.  Here  they  leave  it,  sucking  the 
strength  from  it,  which  they  swallow,  and,  by  a  curi- 
ond  perversion  of  taste,  consider  very  nice. 


CO  STORIES   OF   THE    ISLAND   WORLD. 

We  will  now  speak  of  the  religions  state  of  the 
Maddegassy.  I  have  told  you  already  that  they  wor 
ship  idols.  It  was  for  some  time  supposed  that  they 
did  not,  from  the  fact  of  their  having  no  temples  or 
regular  places  of  worship.  They  believe  in  the  im 
mortality  of  the  soul,  but  have  no  idea  of  future 
punishment,  or  of  an  especially  happy  state  after 
death.  They  believe  in  one  superintending  deity, 
whom  they  call  Zanhare,  or  "  the  God  above."  Sub 
ordinate  to  him  they  hold  a  great  number  of  spirits, 
represented  to  them  by  idols.  These  idols  they  keep 
in  their  houses,  each  family  having  its  own,  and 
making  its  own  votive  offerings.  That  they  have 
no  idea  of  future  reward  is  proven  by  the  fact  that 
they  make  no  sin-offerings,  but  sacrifice  to  their  idols 
only  to  obtain  present  benefits.  There  are,  too,  a 
set  of  idol-keepers,  who  would  represent  the  priests 
of  other  pagan  countries  but  that  they  appear  to 
have  very  little  power.  They  march  in  procession 
on  certain  occasions,  bearing  aloft  their  idols ;  and 
they  receive  the  votive  offerings  of  those  who  desire 
to  conciliate  the  particular  spirit  they  have  in  charge. 

It  is  singular  that  the  Maddegassy  divide  the  time 
into  weeks,  as  do  we,  and  also  keep  a  Sabbath ;  not, 
however,  for  purposes  of  divine  worship,  but  merely 
as  a  day  on  which  slaves  and  all  laboring  men  may 
rest  if  they  wish. 

While  they  believe  in  the  power  of  their  idols, 
they  hold  to  a  greater  power  yet,  which  they  call 
Vintana,  and  which  we  would  call  Fate  or  Destiny  ; 


RELIGION. 


61 


so  that  if  their  prayers  arc  of  no  avail,  they  content 
themselves  by  saying  that  it  was  "  ordered  so." 
Strangers  are  not  allowed  to  examine  the  idols,  and, 
consequently,  but  few  have  been  seen.  Here  is  a 
representation  of  one,  which  was  given  to  the  mis- 


A   MADAGASCAR    IDOL. 


sionaries  in  1831  by  a  converted  keeper,  and  was 
by  them  sent  to  England,  where  it  is  now  in  the  col 
lection  of  the  London  Missionary  Museum.  It  is 
composed  of  brass,  beads,  ivory,  wood,  and  silver ; 
it  is  bound  together  with  silver  wire,  and  ornament 
ed  with  silver  rings.  How  singular  that  this  ugly 
thing,  having  not  even  the  semblance  of  intelligence 


62  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

about  it,  and  put  together  without  skill  or  design, 
should  be  worshiped  as  one  of  the  most  powerful 
gods  of  the  island ! 

Such  being  the  religious  ideas  of  the  people,  it  is 
not  wonderful  that  their  moral  state  is  very  low.  I 
will  tell  you  of  some  of  the  customs  which  may  be 
said  to  spring  directly  from  their  barbarous  idol  wor 
ship.  First  comes  the  practice  of  killing  little  chil 
dren.  When  a  little  child  is  born,  the  parents  ask 
the  idol-keeper  or  charm-man  concerning  it,  and  he 
decides  either  that  it  was  born  on  a  fortunate  day, 
and  may  live  ;  or  that  the  day  was  not  right,  but  an 
offering  to  the  idol  will  make  it  right ;  or,  finally, 
that  it  was  an  unfortunate  day,  and  the  child  must 
die. 

Sometimes  the  sentence  is  that  the  little  babe 
shall  be  laid  in  the  narrow  passage  at  the  entrance 
of  the  cattle-fold,  while  the  cattle  are  driven  out,  and 
past  its  body.  If  none  of  them  happen  to  step  on 
it,  it  may  live.  If,  however,  which  is  most  likely, 
the  poor  babe  is  trampled  to  death,  the  mother,  who 
has  been  looking  on  in  agony,  goes  off  in  tearful  res 
ignation,  thinking  it  is  "destiny.'* 

Sometimes,  however,  even  this  poor  chance  of  life 
is  not  afforded  the  babe.  The  astrologer  says  it 
must  die.  No  matter  how  rich  the  father  is — no 
matter  how  much  the  mother  may  love  her  child, 
or  how  bitterly  she  may  weep  at  the  idea  of  a  sepa 
ration,  it  must  die.  So  the  innocent  babe  is  taken 
from  its  mother's  arms  and  buried  alive,  or  drowned, 


SUPERSTITIONS.  C3 

or  exposed  in  the  woods  to  the  wild-cat  and  other 

The  months  of  March  and  April,  the  eighth  and 
last  day  of  every  month,  and  Wednesday  and  Fri 
day  of  each  week,  are  the  entirely  fatal  days.  Be 
sides  these,  however,  there  are  hours  of  other  da\>- 
which  may  happen  to  be  counted  fatal,  so  that  dur 
ing  nearly  one  half  the  year  little  children  must  be 
put  to  death.  Is  it  not  a  horrid  state  of  affairs, 
children  ?  Let  us  pray  that  God  will  give  the  poor 
people  better  hearts,  and  that  the  Gospel  light  may 
quickly  dissolve  this  darkness  of  idol  worship. 

During  the  reign  of  Kadarna,  that  wrise  king  made 
a  law  that  no  more  children  should  be  killed,  and 
that  all  who  were  born  on  unfortunate  days  should 
be  adopted  by  the  king.  This  saved  a  great  many 
lives,  but  it  is  supposed  that  since  his  death  infanti 
cide  is  again  on  the  increase. 

Another  wicked  custom  is  the  trial  by  ordeal. 
Suppose  a  man  to  be  accused  of  any  crime,  and 
there  is  evidence  to  prove  him  guilty :  instead  of  be 
ing  condemned  according  to  law,  he  is  made  to  pass 
a  red-hot  iron  over  his  tongue,  or  to  thrust  his  naked 
arm  and  hand  into  a  crock  of  boiling  water  to  pick 
out  a  pebble  which  lies  at  the  bottom,  or  to  perform 
some  other  dangerous  action,  and  if  he  escapes  with 
out  serious  injury  he  is  considered  innocent,  while, 
should  he  be  burned  or  otherwise  hurt,  he  is  declared 
guilty  and  receives  his  regular  punishment. 

The  ordeal  of  the  tamjcmt  is  most  generally  used 


64  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

in  Madagascar  at  this  day.  This  is  a  powerful  veg 
etable  poison  which  grows  upon  the  island.  If  taken 
in  only  small  doses,  however,  it  simply  acts  as  an 
emetic.  If  two  witnesses  are  brought  against  an 
accused  person,  he  is  condemned  to  the  tangena. 
First  he  is  made  to  eat  a  quantity  of  rice.  With 
this  three  pieces  of  the  skin  of  a  chicken  are  given 
him.  A  portion  of  tangena  nut  is  then  scraped  into 
water  and  given  him  to  drink.  Should  the  pieces 
of  chicken-skin  be  ejected  from  his  stomach,  he  is 
declared  innocent ;  and  should  he  afterward  recover 
from  the  effects  of  the  poison,  the  king  grants  him  a 
pension.  If  the  three  pieces  of  skin  do  not  make 
their  appearance,  he  is  straightway  killed  with  a 
club,  and  his  possessions  are  divided  between  the  of 
ficers  and  the  government.  It  is  easy  to  see  that 
those  who  administer  the  tangena  are  enabled  to  kill 
or  save  at  pleasure,  as  they  can  increase  or  diminish 
the  quantity  given.  The  missionaries  suppose  that 
about  one  tenth  of  the  population  take  the  tangena 
at  some  period  of  their  lives,  and,  further,  that  one  in 
every  five  of  these  dies ;  so  that  we  may  judge  one 
of  every  fifty  of  the  population  to  die  in  this  way, 
making  over  three  thousand  a  year. 

Cheating  in  trade  and  deceit  of  all  kinds  the  Mad- 
degassy  are  extremely  addicted  to.  It  is  not  consid 
ered  at  all  dishonorable  to  lie  ;  and  the  missionaries 
complain  that  there  are  in  the  language  of  the  island 
no  words  for  generosity  and  gratitude.  On  certain 
occasions  lying  is  commanded  by  law ;  and,  to  show 


KADAMA.  65 

how  little  trust  is  to  be  placed  in  the  conscience  of 
man,  unless  that  conscience  has  been  formed  and  ed 
ucated  under  the  law  of  God,  I  will  mention  that 
among  the  complaints  made  to  the  authorities 
against  the  Christians,  one  was  that  they  injured 
the  country  by  teaching  the  people  to  scruple  at  tell 
ing  lies. 

Such  was  the  state  of  the  people  when  the  mis 
sionaries  came  among  them.  Their  previous  inter 
course  with  white  men  had  done  them  harm  rather 
than  good,  and  was  now  a  barrier  to  the  advance 
ment  of  Christianity,  inasmuch  as  the  natives  were 
slow  to  make  a  distinction  between  those  whom 
they  knew  to  be  equally  vicious  with  themselves, 
and  those  who,  coming  from  the  same  country,  yet 
claimed  to  be  different.  I  sometimes  think  that  a 
heavy  responsibility  rests  upon  those  explorers  and 
traders  from  whom  savages  receive  their  first  strong 
impressions  of  the  character  of  more  civilized  na 
tions. 

We  must  now  speak  a  little  of  Radama,  the  most 
enlightened  monarch  of  Madagascar.  In  1810,  the 
Isle  of  France  came  into  the  possession  of  the  Brit 
ish.  They  continued  to  trade  with  Madagascar,  on 
which  island  they  depended  almost  altogether  for 
their  supply  of  cattle.  Radama  early  cultivated 
friendly  relations  with  the  British,  and  in  1816  sent 
his  two  younger  brothers,  lads  often  and  twelve  years, 
to  Port  Louis  to  be  educated  under  the  supervision 
of  the  governor.  At  the  same  time,  he  invited  vari- 
E 


66  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

ous  handicraftsmen  to  settle  at  his  capital  and  teach 
his  subjects  the  arts  of  civilization.  At  the  close 
of  that  year,  Captain  Le  Sage  was  sent  to  hold  a 
communication  with  the  king.  He  and  his  party 
were  well  received,  and  Radama,  who  had  desired 
to  subjugate  the  inhabitants  of  southeastern  Mada 
gascar,  who  were  independent  of  his  authority,  pre 
vailed  upon  a  Mr.  Brady,  a  British  soldier,  to  remain 
to  organize  and  drill  his  army  in  the  European  man 
ner. 

In  July,  1817,  Mr.  Hastie,  a  British  agent,  re 
turned  to  Madagascar  with  Radama's  brothers.  He 
negotiated  at  that  time  the  treaty  which  resulted  in 
the  total  abolition  of  the  foreign  slave-trade.  He 
brought  some  valuable  presents,  and,  among  others, 
some  horses,  which  animal  was  now  first  introduced 
on  the  island. 

In  July,  1818,  Mr.  Thomas  Bevan  and  Mr.  David 
Jones,  two  missionaries  who  had  been  previously 
sent  out  to  the  Isle  of  France  from  London,  sailed 
for  Madagascar.  On  the  8th  of  September  they 
opened  a  small  school  at  Tamatave,  a  sea-port  town. 
The  children  were  delighted — so  says  their  report — 
and  particularly  with  the  singing.  They  shortly 
returned  to  Port  Louis,  and  early  in  1819  revisited 
Tamatave  with  their  families.  They  found,  to  their 
great  joy,  that  the  children  whom  they  had  taught 
had,  in  turn,  imparted  instruction  to  others,  and  so 
the  good  work  had  prospered.  They  now  began 
their  labors  in  earnest  by  the  erection  of  a  school- 


MISSIONARY    LABORS.  67 

house.  15ut,  unfortunately,  they  had  landed  in  the 
most  sickly  season.  Within  three  months  after  their 
arrival,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bevan,  and  Mrs.  Jones,  with 
all  their  children,  fell  before  the  Madagascar  fever, 
the  most  dread  scourge  of  that  part  of  the  world. 
Mr.  Jones  was  also  disabled  by  disease,  but  fortu 
nately  escaped  with  life.  Thus  these  good  people, 
who  had  left  all  the  pleasures  and  comforts  of  their 
English  homes  to  bear  the  Gospel  of  our  Savior  to 
the  heathen,  were  within  a  few  months  called  home 
to  receive  the  reward  of  the  blessed.  How  shall  we 
sufficiently  admire  the  courage  and  devotedness  of 
him  who,  bereft  of  all  that  he  held  most  dear,  his 
wife  and  family,  returned  the  following  year  to  the 
field  of  labor  on  which  they  had  so  unfortunately 
perished ! 

In  1820,  Rev.  David  Jones  proceeded  to  the  cap 
ital,  Tananarivou,  and  on  the  8th  of  December  of 
that  year  he  began  a  school  with  three  children. 
Radama  himself  laid  the  foundation  of  a  house  for 
the  missionaries.  The  number  of  attendants  at  the 
mission  school  steadily  increased.  The  children 
were  chosen,  by  order  of  the  king,  from  his  family 
and  those  of  the  highest  nobles.  Radama  took  a 
personal  interest  in  all  the  concerns  of  the  school. 

In  October,  1821,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  David  Griffiths 
arrived  at  the  capital.  In  December,  in  accordance 
with  a  custom  of  the  country,  which  causes  the  first 
fruits  of  the  ground,  as  well  as  the  first  results  of 
any  new  invention,  to  be  brought  to  the  king,  Mi>. 


68  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

.Griffiths  presented  to  Radama  the  first  specimen  of 
needle-work  done  by  her  pupils.  On  New  Year's 
day,  1822,  the  ordinance  of  baptism  was  adminis 
tered  for  the  first  time  on  this  island  by  Protestants. 
At  this  time  the  school  numbered  sixty. 

In  1821,  Prince  Rataffe  or  Ratefy,  brother-in-law 
to  the  king,  sailed  for  London.  He  was  bearer  of 
a  letter  from  Radama  to  the  London  Missionary  So 
ciety,  which  raised  much  interest  for  Madagascar. 
In  it  he  promises  protection  to  as  many  missionaries 
as  they  chose  to  send,  "provided  you  send  skillful 
artisans  to  make  my  people  workmen  as  well  as 
Christians."  Rataffe  returned  in  company  with 
Rev.  J.  Jeffreys  and  wife  as  missionaries,  and  four 
handicraftsmen,  Messrs.  Brooks,  Chick,  Canham,  and 
Rowlands.  These  were  to  instruct  the  natives  re 
spectively  in  working  in  iron,  tanning,  and  currying, 
and  in  the  arts  of  spinning  and  weaving  cotton,  flax, 
and  silk.  I  mention  these  names  to  you,  children, 
because  I  think  they  ought  to  be  written  in  letters 
of  gold  as  heroes  who  voluntarily  suffered  all  man 
ner  of  deprivations,  and  some  of  them  death,  for  the 
cause  of  missions  and  the  good  of  a  strange  people. 

Mr.  Brooks  died  ten  days  after  his  arrival  at  Ta- 
nanarivou.  Much  success  attended  the  labor  of  the 
rest.  But  soon  the  jealousy  of  the  ignorant  natives 
was  aroused.  They  could  not  realize  that  men 
would  leave  their  friends  and  country  to  come  among 
strangers  merely  to  do  good  to  these ;  and  in  search 
ing  for  an  object  for  these  actions,  they  were  sure 


TIIK   NATIVE   SCHOOLS.  C9 

to  settle  upon  a  wrong  one.  It  was  whispered  that 
Kaduma  had  encouraged  the  schools,  in  order  that 
thereby  he  might  easily  get  hold  of  the  children,  to 
sell  them  into  slavery.  Parents  became  alarmed, 
and  those  who,  in  obedience  to  the  words  of  an  ig 
norant  diviner,  would  sacrifice  a  helpless  infant,  were 
now  led  by  affection  to  conceal  their  children  in  rice- 
pits  and  other  unwholesome  places,  to  keep  them 
from  school.  Many  thus  died  of  suffocation.  Many 
believed  that  the  white  men  desired  their  children 
for  food,  and  would  send  them  out  of  the  country 
to  be  eaten. 

By  the  interference  of  the  king,  a  stop  was  put  to 
the  spread  of  these  absurd  fears,  and  soon  the  chil 
dren  were  cheerfully  sent  to  school.  How  delight 
ed  the  good  missionaries  must  have  been  to  see  their 
work  so  prosperous!  They  soon  began  to  extend 
their  operations,  and  preached  and  held  schools  in 
various  parts  of  the  interior  of  the  island. 

On  July  4th,  1825,  Mr.  Jeffreys  and  his  daughter 
died,  on  their  passage  to  the  Isle  of  France.  In 
March,  182G,  an  examination  of  the  schools  took 
place.  On  this  occasion  Radama  delivered  an  ad 
dress  to  the  scholars  and  native  teachers,  numbering 
two  thousand.  In  this,  his  thoroughly  practical  tend 
ency  is  displayed  by  this  remark,  "  The  knowledge 
you  obtain  is  good — good  for  trade." 

More  missionaries  were,  from  time  to  time,  sent 
out  from  England,  and  the  schools  and  preaching 
prospered  greatly.  The  king  himself  did  not  at  any 


70  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

time  embrace  Christianity,  but  his  shrewd  mind  saw 
at  once  through  the  superstitious  errors  of  idol-wor 
ship,  and,  on  the  other  hand,  appreciated  highly  the 
advantages  he  and  his  people  could  not  fail  to  gain 
from  the  introduction  of  those  arts  of  civilization 
which  he  noticed  go  hand  in  hand  with  Christian 
ity. 

Of  his  freedom  from  superstition  the  following 
story,  related  by  the  missionaries,  gives  evidence. 
Radama  had  been  informed  that  a  man,  at  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  capital,  had  given  out  that 
he  was  able  to  foretell  future  events,  and  was  other 
wise  inspired.  The  king  sent  for  him.  He  was  re 
ceived  with  much  ceremony,  the  royal  body-guard 
and  the  female  singers  being  drawn  up  in  order  on 
the  occasion.  The  singers  saluted  him,  "  Tonga  ny 
Andriamanitra" — "  God  is  come,  God  is  come." 

After  some  preliminary  questions,  in  answer  to 
which  the  impostor  stated  that  he  possessed  powers 
of  divination,  the  king  said  to  him,  "  There  is  a  piece 
of  gold  buried  near  this  house ;  we  have  searched  for 
it,  but  can  not  find  it.  Tell  me  where  it  is,  and  I 
shall  believe  your  pretensions  that  you  are  a  god." 

The  poor  wretch,  trembling,  tried  half  a  dozen 
places,  but  without  success. 

"  Ah !"  cried  the  king,  "he  is  surely  an  impostor. 
He  is  deceiving  the  people  and  robbing  them  of  their 
pence.  Fetch  a  stick,  and  let  him  be  beaten."  Hav 
ing  received  a  thorough  flogging,  the  king  ordered 
him  to  be  beheaded.  He  was,  however,  reprieved, 


DEATH    OP    RADAMA.  71 

placed  in  irons,  and  kq>t  at  work  until  Radama's 
di-ath. 

During  1827  a  printer  was  sent  out,  but,  unfortu 
nately,  he  died  of  the  fatal  fever  in  ten  days  after  his 
arrival,  and  for  lack  of  workmen,  the  types  and  press 
which  had  been  sent  out  lay  idle.  In  July,  1828, 
two  more  missionaries  reached  the  capital,  and  eight 
days  afterward  one  was  buried.  Indeed,  it  was  at 
the  most  imminent  risk  of  their  lives  that  these 
good  men  proceeded  to  their  stations,  and  I  think 
we  can  not  sufficiently  admire  their  heroism  in  vol 
untarily  going  to  die  in  a  strange  land  and  among 
the  heathen. 

In  1828  there  were  four  thousand  scholars  in  the 
schools  of  Tananarivou  alone.  Divine  services  were 
held  in  various  parts  of  the  island,  and  the  inhabit 
ants  readily  listened  to  the  Word  of  God.  The  moral 
state  of  the  people  was  gradually  but  surely  improv 
ing.  Lying  and  stealing  were  growing  less  fre 
quent.  The  tangena  and  the  practice  of  killing  lit 
tle  children  were  both  going  out  of  use,  and  the 
slave-trade  was  stopped. 

In  this  year  (1828)  Radama  died.  This  was  a 
severe  blow  to  the  missionaries.  He  had  appointed 
as  his  successor  Rakatobe,  his  sister's  son.  This 
young  man  was  favorably  disposed  toward  the  mis 
sionaries.  The  priests,  however,  united  with  Rana- 
valona,  the  queen  of  Radama,  to  give  her  the  crown, 
she  promising  them  obedience  and  service.  Raka 
tobe  was  speared.  Frince  Ratafle  and  his  wife  were 


72  STORIES   OP   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

also  killed ;  and  in  a  short  time  all,  with  one  excep 
tion,  who  had  any  claims  to  the  throne,  were  put  to 
death  by  the  queen  and  her  helpers,  the  priests. 
Prince  Ramanetaka  fled  in  time,  and  made  his  escape 
to  the  Comoro  Islands. 

But  I  must  tell  you  something  about  the  king's 
funeral.  His  body  was  placed  in  a  large  silver  cof 
fin,  made  by  native  silversmiths,  and  composed  of 
fourteen  thousand  silver  dollars.  It  was  eight  feet 
long,  four  and  a  half  feet  wide,  and  the  same  in 
height.  The  dollars  were  melted  and  beaten  into 
plates,  and  these  plates  were  fastened  with  silver 
rivets. 

The  following  inscription  was  placed  upon  the 
coffin: 

Tananarivou,  1st  August,  1828. 

RADAMA,  Manjaka, 

Unequaled  among  the  Princes, 

Sovereign  of  the  Island. 

Manjaka  means  king.  The  coffin  was  placed  in 
a  tomb  thirty  feet  square  and  sixteen  feet  high.  A 
great  amount  of  the  late  king's  property  was  buried 
with  him.  One  of  the  missionaries  (Mr.  Ellis)  gives 
a  list  of  the  articles,  among  which  I  read  of  49  hats 
and  caps,  155  coats  and  jackets,  96  vests,  170  pairs 
of  pantaloons,  37  shirts,  54  pairs  of  stockings,  38 
pairs  of  boots  and  shoes,  a  set  of  silver  table-ware, 
24  looking-glasses,  4  fine  writing-desks,  18  gold  fin 
ger-rings,  3  gold  watches,  9  pairs  of  gold  epaulets, 
2  pairs  of  pistols,  10  swords,  24  muskets,  etc.,  etc. 


RADAMA'S  TOMB.  78 

10,300  Spanish  dollars  were  placed  in  the  kind's 
coffin.  A  cask  of  wine  was  buried  opposite  his 
tomb,  with  a  brass  cannon  which  was  previously 
burst.  Six  of  Radama's  favorite  horses  were  slain, 
and  13,952  oxen  were  distributed  among  the  people 
gathered  together  at  the  capital.  The  dollars  which 
were  placed  in  the  tomb  were  all  marked,  to  render 
their  after-circulation  impossible. 

A  small  house  was  afterward  built  over  the  tomb. 
It  contains  one  room,  which  is  elegantly  furnished. 
A  table,  two  chairs,  a  bottle  of  wine,  one  of  water, 
and  two  drinking-glasscs,  are  placed  in  the  room. 
It  is  supposed  that  the  spirit  of  the  king  may  occa 
sionally  visit  this  place,  and  there  meet  the  spirit  of 
his  father,  and  the  refreshments  are  for  the  use  of 
these  spirits. 

The  custom  of  the  country  required  a  total  ces 
sation  from  all  ordinary  labors  and  amusements  for 
the  period  of  twelve  months  after  the  death  of  a 
sovereign.  The  queen  and  her  counselors  determ 
ined  that  teaching  and  preaching  were  unnecessary, 
and  the  missionaries  were  therefore  obliged  to  close 
their  schools  and  put  a  stop  to  public  worship.  A 
special  edict  permitted  the  culture  of  rice,  to  prevent 
a  famine,  but  otherwise  the  people  did  nothing. 
Meantime  the  missionaries,  deprived  of  their  privi 
leges  of  public  usefulness,  attended  diligently  to  the 
translation  of  various  parts  of  the  Bible  into  Mad- 
degassy,  as  well  as  to  the  putting  together  of  ele 
mentary  school-books.  The  press,  too,  was  allowed 


74  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

to  be  worked,  and  during  the  twelve  months  a  large 
number  of  books  were  prepared. 

Part  of  the  schools  were  ordered  to  be  opened  in 
six  months  after  the  king's  death.  But  shortly  after, 
seven  hundred  of  the  scholars  and  native  teachers 
were  drafted  into  the  army,  and  from  this  time  the 
queen  seems  to  have  considered  the  schools  only  as 
a  place  where  she  could  have  her  younger  subjects 
educated  for  the  army,  and  where  she  could  at  any 
moment  seize  upon  them. 

When  the  natives  became  reluctant  to  send  their 
children  to  the  schools,  for  fear  of  losing  them  in  the 
army,  they  were  commanded  to  send  them  regular 
ly,  on  pain  of  severe  punishment.  At  the  same  time, 
all  public  Christian  worship  was  prohibited,  and 
shortly  the  native  Christians  were  forbidden  to  meet 
even  privately,  and  were  watched  and  punished  for 
evasions  of  the  command. 

This  was  the  beginning  of  the  persecutions.  In 
October,  1829,  the  French  made  an  attack  on  the 
sea-port  of  Tamatave.  This  added,  probably,  to  the 
already  strong  jealousy  of  foreign  influence.  The 
British  commercial  agent  was  dismissed  with  insult. 
Several  of  the  missionaries  returned  to  the  Mauri 
tius.  The  idols  were  acknowledged  supreme  in  all 
public  transactions ;  the  government  relied  upon  the 
diviners  for  the  times  of  action ;  the  tangena  was 
re-established,  and  a  number  of  officers  and  nobles 
were  forced  to  undergo  this  ordeal.  A  general  pu 
rification  of  the  country  by  the  tangena  was  pro- 


PERSECUTION.  75 

claimed  necessary,  and  it  is  suppo^-d  that  many 
thousands  of  the  Maddegassy  perished  in  this  way. 

On  the  1st  of  March,  1835,  a  general  kabary,  or 
meeting  of  the  people,  was  called,  and  15,000  sol 
diers  were  sent  to  attend  it  in  company  with  the 
people,  perhaps  to  overawe  them.  When  all  were 
assembled,  an  edict  of  the  queen  was  read,  by  which 
"  all  who  had  attended  school  or  had  learned  to  read 
and  write,  all  who  had  attended  public  worship,  all 
who  had  spoken  against  the  idols  or  customs  of  the 
country,  and  all  who  had  been  baptized,  or  had  join 
ed  the  Church  or  observed  the  Sabbath,  were  re 
quired  within  one  month  to  come  before  officers  ap 
pointed  and  confess  the  same." 

Those  who  confessed  were  to  be  punished  accord 
ing  to  their  offense.  Those  who  did  not  confess,  if 
afterward  found  guilty,  were  to  suffer  death.  Upon 
a  remonstrance  by  some  of  the  chiefs,  the  time  of 
confession  was  shortened  to  a  week.  On  the  18th 
of  June,  1835,  six  of  the  missionaries  left  the  isl 
and.  Two  more  sailed  on  the  27th  of  August,  leav 
ing  then  but  two  at  the  capital,  who  expected  soon 
to  follow.  All  those  who  had  in  any  way  acted  as 
assistants  to  the  missionaries  were,  after  their  de 
parture,  forced  to  drink  the  tangena,  and  thus  many 
of  them  perished. 

The  persecutions  now  began  in  earnest.  Threat 
ened  with  death  if  they  met  for  worship,  a  few  of 
the  faithful  still  used  to  gather  after  midnight,  and, 
by  the  light  of  the  dim  taper,  read  the  Scriptures  to 


76  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

each  other.  Their  copies  of  the  Bible  and  other 
books  they  were  obliged  to  bury  in  the  ground,  or 
hide  beneath  floors  and  in  stables.  Four  natives, 
who  had  in  an  especial  degree  excited  the  hostility 
of  the  queen,  were  placed  head  down  in  a  pit,  and, 
being  there  secured,  were  scalded  to  death  with  boil 
ing  water,  which  was  poured  over  them.  Numbers 
were  put  to  death  or  sold  into  slavery,  the  queen  and 
her  chief  officers  in  all  cases  appropriating  their 
property.  All  who  were  suspected  to  be  Christians 
were  watched  with  jealous  eyes,  and  their  least  move 
ments  were  construed  into  offenses. 

In  obedience  to  the  queen's  edict  many  Christians 
confessed.  Many  others,  however,  declared  their  in 
tention  not  to  confess  till  persuaded  they  had  done 
something  wrong.  A  second  edict  now  commanded 
all  who  had  in  their  possession  books  or  pamphlets 
of  any  kind,  to  deliver  these  up  to  persons  appoint 
ed  to  receive  them.  A  general  search  being  insti 
tuted,  a  number  of  books  were  seized.  These  were 
brought  before  judges  appointed  by  the  queen.  Some 
of  the  scholars  were  made  to  read  them.  Whenev 
er  an  obnoxious  word  occurred  the  book  was  con 
demned.  The  word  Jehovah  was  found  in  the  hymn- 
book,  and  the  book  was  pronounced  against.  The 
first  verse  of  the  Bible  was  thought  unobjectionable, 
but  in  the  second  the  word  darkness  occurred,  and 
for  this  the  book  was  condemned,  "because  the  queen 
did  not  like  darkness." 

All  publications  which  contained  the  name  of  the 


PERSECUTIONS.  77 

Savior,  or  any  of  the  names  connected  with  the  Chris 
tian  religion,  were  pronounced  bad.  The  books  were 
stored  in  an  old  building,  and  here  they  became  prey 
to  the  rats ;  and  it  is  related  that,  to  prevent  them 
from  being  altogether  destroyed,  the  soldiers  who 
guarded  the  literary  treasure  were  ordered  to  pro 
vide  cats,  and  a  regular  allowance  was  made  for  a 
time  out  of  the  queen's  treasury  for  meat  for  these 
cats. 

Amid  all  this  persecution  the  converts  continued 
their  secret  meetings,  and  not  only  grew  in  grace 
themselves,  but  had  additions  to  their  numbers. 
Only  a  few  months  before  the  missionaries  were  or 
dered  to  leave  the  island,  the  printing  of  the  Bible 
in  Maddegassy  had  been  finished,  and  a  number  of 
copies  secretly  distributed.  These  were  highly  val 
ued,  and  great  care  was  used  in  concealing  them. 
Seventy  Bibles,  besides  a  number  of  Testaments  and 
tracts,  were  buried  in  a  secure  place  by  the  mission 
aries  before  they  left  Tananarivou.  We  learn  from 
the  accounts  of  the  missionaries  that  during  the  fif 
teen  years  in  which  the  mission  was  open,  a  Dic 
tionary,  in  the  Maddegassy  and  English  languages, 
in  two  volumes,  was  nearly  finished ;  the  Bible  was 
translated  and  printed  complete,  and  about  30,000 
copies  of  tracts  and  portions  of  Scripture  were  dis 
tributed,  some  to  very  remote  parts  of  the  country. 

But  the  queen,  who  was  so  eager  to  put  the  Chris 
tians  to  death,  did  not  stop  short  there.  She  tyran 
nized  over  all  her  people.  She  desired  to  have  a 


78  STORIES   OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

great  army,  and  so  all  the  young  men,  and  all  boys 
over  twelve  years  old,  were  made  soldiers.  Then 
she  wanted  much  money  to  feed  and  clothe  her  army, 
and  the  poor  people  were  obliged  to  pay  taxes. 
Those  who  could  not  pay  were  robbed  of  every  thing 
they  possessed,  and  many,  in  turn,  became  robbers, 
and  roamed  in  bands  through  the  country,  stealing 
of  the  wealthier  people.  Two  hundred  of  these  rob 
bers  were  caught  by  the  queen's  troops,  and  were  all 
put  to  death  on  one  day  at  Tananarivou. 

The  people  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the  island 
refused  any  longer  to  pay  taxes,  and  the  queen  sent 
a  large  army  to  conquer  them.  When  the  people 
saw  the  army  they  desired  peace,  and  promised  to 
pay ;  but  the  men  were  commanded  to  meet  in  a 
certain  place,  and  when  ten  thousand  were  gathered 
together,  they  were  surrounded  and  killed  by  the 
soldiers,  not  one  escaping.  The  boys,  who  had  been 
commanded  to  remain  with  their  mothers,  were  then 
measured.  The  queen  had  commanded  that  all  who 
were  of  a  certain  height  should  be  made  soldiers. 
All  who  were  over  or  under  this  height,  even  if  it 
was  only  half  an  inch,  were  killed  upon  the  spot, 
perhaps  in  the  presence  of  their  mothers. 

Besides  all  these  murders  and  cruelties,  in  eight 
months  upward  of  one  thousand  executions  took 
place  in  various  parts  of  the  island.  Of  these  many 
were  burned  to  death,  some  were  speared,  some  died 
by  scalding  water,  some  were  thrown  from  a  high 
place,  and  some  were  even  buried  alive.  No  cJne 


STEADFASTNESS    OF    NATIVE    CHRISTIANS.          79 

can  tell  how  many  poor  people  have  suffered  death, 
or  torture,  or  imprisonment,  or  slavery,  at  the  hands 
of  this  wicked  queen,  who  seems  to  delight  in  noth 
ing  so  much  as  the  -wretchedness  of  her  subjects. 

The  persecutions  of  the  Christians  lasted  seven 
teen  years,  from  1834  to  1851.  They,  however,  still 
continued  to  keep  up  their  faith,  and,  notwithstand 
ing  the  strictness  of  the  watch  kept  upon  them,  gain 
ed  converts  year  by  year.  In  1846  their  number 
was  increased  by  one  hundred  new  converts,  and 
among  these  was  Rakotandrama,  the  only  son  of  the 
queen.  When,  five  months  afterward,  twenty-one 
of  the  new  converts  were  condemned  to  death,  the 
queen's  son,  with  noble  courage,  appealed  publicly  to 
his  mother  for  their  lives,  and  was,  happily,  success 
ful  in  gaining  his  wishes.  He  has  continued  to  aid 
and  encourage  the  Christians,  but  his  influence  has 
not  been  at  all  times  great  enough  to  save  them  from 
death. 

In  1850  two  thousand  converts  were  summoned 
to  the  capital.  Ten  of  these  were  thrown  down  a 
precipice  two  hundred  and  forty  feet,  and  thus  dash 
ed  to  pieces.  Three  were  condemned  to  the  stake. 
They  were  tied  up,  and  the  fagots  were  fired.  Three 
times  the  rain  extinguished  the  flames.  The  people 
were  awed  at  the  repeated  interposition,  but  the  au 
thorities  would  not  grant  a  reprieve. 

In  1853  letters  were  received  from  converts  in 
Madagascar,  stating  that  a  change  was  about  to  take 
place  in  the  government.  It  was  said  that  the  queen 


80  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

had  not  only  much  changed  in  her  actions  toward 
the  Christians,  but,  farther,  that  she  was  about  to 
resign  her  authority  into  the  hands  of  the  prince 
her  son.  This  has  not  actually  taken  place ;  but 
some  good  missionaries,  who  volunteered  to  go  out 
to  Madagascar  as  soon  as  the  news  reached  London, 
have  written  back  that  the  chief  of  the  persecutors 
is  dead,  and  that  his  son  (who  is  a  Christian)  and 
the  queen's  son  have  now  the  authority  in  their 
hands. 

Albert.  Do  you  know  any  story  of  the  Madagas 
car  Christians  besides  those  you  have  told  us  7  I 
like  to  hear  how  brave  and  good  some  of  those 
Christians  were  when  their  queen  asked  them  to  do 
wrong. 

George.  Yes ;  I  can  tell  you  the  story  of  Rafara- 
vavy,  a  Christian  woman,  who,  after  the  departure 
of  the  last  missionaries,  was  apprehended,  and  suf 
fered  much  and  willingly  for  her  faith's  sake.  Rafa- 
ravavy  was  the  daughter  of  an  officer  of  the  queen's 
household.  She  had  become  a  Christian  before  the 
extreme  measures  against  them  were  enforced.  While 
she  was  yet  an  idolatress,  she  was  exceedingly  de 
voted  to  her  false  gods,  often  leaving  herself  and 
household  without  food  or  proper  raiment  for  a  time, 
in  order  to  supply  means  for  the  worship  of  her 
idol.  Upon  her  conversion  to  Christianity,  she 
brought  all  the  natural  enthusiasm  of  her  spirit  to 
bear  upon  the  propagation  of  her  new  faith.  She 
rented  a  house  at  the  capital,  in  which  prayer-meet- 


RAFARAVAVT.  81 

ings  were  regularly  held.  She  also  labored  hard  to 
secure  the  conversion  of  her  friends. 

A  short  time  before  the  departure  of  the  mission 
aries,  Rafaravavy,  with  nine  others,  was  accused  of 
reading  the  Bible  and  praying.  Three  of  her  own 
slaves  were  her  accusers.  Although  it  was  not 
usual  to  receive  slaves  as  witnesses  against  their 
owners,  in  this  case  the  accusation  was  entertained. 
While  the  affair  was  being  investigated,  the  slaves 
hid  themselves.  Rafaravavy's  father,  hearing  of 
their  action,  caught  them  and  put  them  in  irons, 
determining  to  punish  them  for  accusing  his  daugh 
ter.  She,  however,  prevailed  upon  him  to  release 
them.  She  prayed  with  the  poor  slaves  while  they 
were  in  irons,  read  the  Scriptures  to  them,  and  so 
led  them  to  see  the  error  of  their  ways  that  they 
were  soon  themselves  new  creatures. 

As  the  charge  brought  against  Rafaravavy  was 
proved,  the  judge  advised  her  father  to  persuade  her 
to  a  confession.  She  unhesitatingly  acknowledged 
that  she  prayed  to  the  -  only  true  God,  but  she 
steadily  refused  to  betray  her  companions.  This 
greatly  enraged  the  queen,  who  ordered  her  servants 
to  put  her  to  death.  This  sentence  was,  however, 
commuted  at  the  intercession  of  some  influential 
person  near  the  queen.  Rafaravavy's  life  was  saved, 
but  she  was  fined  to  the  amount  of  half  her  property 
and  half  the  price  which  would  be  given  for  her  it' 
she  was  sold  into  slavery ;  for  this  wicked  queen 
F 


82  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

claimed  and  exercised  the  power  to  sell  any  of  her 
subjects  at  her  pleasure. 

The  fines  were  fortunately  paid  without  the  suf 
ferer  having  to  be  sold  into  slavery  to  meet  them. 
She  thereupon  hired  a  house  at  a  short  distance  from 
the  capital,  and  once  more  small  parties  of  Chris 
tians  met  there  with  her  to  worship  the  true  God. 
They  dared  not,  however,  gather  there  regularly. 
They  were  too  closely  watched  for  this.  Some 
times,  therefore,  they  would  meet  at  night  upon  the 
neighboring  mountains,  at  places  appointed  before 
hand.  Sometimes  they  appointed  other  secret  places 
for  meetings ;  for  they  knew  very  well  that  slavery 
or  death  would  be  the  punishment  if  their  meetings 
were  discovered.  How  admirable  is  the  faithful 
ness  of  these  humble  Christians,  who,  though  but 
lately  reclaimed  from  the  darkest  superstitions,  no 
sooner  knew  the  light  of  the  Gospel  than  they  clung 
to  it  even  at  the  expense  of  their  lives. 

God  blessed  them  in  their  prayers,  for  we  read 
that  at  this  time  their  number  rapidly  increased, 
and  they  seem  too,  for  some  time,  to  have  enjoyed 
a  season  of  quietness. 

But  they  were  not  long  left  unmolested.  Their 
enemies  were  constantly  upon  the  watch.  Ere  long 
fourteen  were  apprehended,  and  on  refusing  to  "  con 
fess,"  by  which  was  meant  to  abjure  Christianity, 
were  sold  into  slavery.  Shortly  afterward  some 
spies,  who  hoped  to  get  possession  of  part  of  Rafa- 
ravavy's  property  by  their  information,  had  her  and 


CONDEMNED    TO    DEATH.  83 

nine  others  taken  up.  Again  this  pious  woman  suf 
fered  long  and  severe  examinations.  Again  she  free 
ly  acknowledged  herself  a  Christian,  but  firmly  re 
fused  to  disclose  her  companions.  It  was  thought 
that  this  time  her  life  would  be  sacrificed.  Four 
teen  days  were  consumed  by  the  government  in  de 
termining  her  fate.  Finally,  the  people  of  the  capital 
were  assembled,  and  ordered,  in  the  name  of  the 
queen,  to  seize  upon  Rafaravavy's  property. 

She  was  at  home,  whither  she  had  been  permitted 
to  retire.  She  knew  naught  of  the  new  decision 
till  the  people  rushed  madly  into  the  house,  seizing 
and  carrying  off  whatever  they  could  lay  their  hands 
upon.  She  was  then  made  to  follow  four  of  the 
regular  executioners.  Of  course,  all  expected  that 
she  would  be  immediately  put  to  death.  She  meek 
ly  followed  the  officers,  repeating  to  herself,  "  Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit."  Several  other  native  con 
verts  followed  to  encourage  her.  Instead,  however, 
of  being  put  to  death,  the  officers  placed  heavy  irons 
upon  her,  informing  her,  at  the  same  time,  that  she 
was  to  suffer  death,  by  the  queen's  orders,  on  the 
following  morning.  That  night  a  fire  broke  out  in 
the  capital,  and  burned  down  many  houses.  This 
fire,  which,  by  many  even  of  the  idolatrous  natives, 
was  judged  providential,  gave  rise  to  so  much  con- 
i'uHon,  that  the  execution  of  Kufuravavy  was  neg 
lected.  The  queen  seems  herself  to  have  been  af 
fected  by  the  occurrence,  for  it  was  in  a  few  days 
ordered  that  the  ten  condemned  should  be  reduced 
to  perpetual  slavery. 


84  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

One  other,  a  woman,  was  killed.  When  taken  to 
the  place  of  execution,  she  received  permission  to 
kneel  down  and  pray.  While  still  committing  her 
spirit  to  the  Lord,  she  was  pierced  through  the  heart 
by  the  spears  of  the  executioners.  Her  body  was 
denied  burial.  It  was  left  to  be  devoured  by  the 
dogs. 

Rafaravavy,  after  lying  five  months  in  irons,  was 
sold  into  slavery.  She  fortunately  fell  into  the 
hands  of  one  of  her  distant  relatives.  Here,  al 
though  forced  to  work,  she  was  at  any  rate  protect 
ed  from  insult  and  contumely.  Her  husband,  who 
was  an  officer  in  the  army,  had  been  long  absent 
from  her.  He  visited  her  while  she  was  in  slavery. 
Her  condition  was,  after  this,  greatly  ameliorated. 
She  took  advantage  of  her  larger  liberty  to  form  an 
other  society  of  Christians.  After  meeting  for  a 
few  months  in  secret,  they  were  again  discovered. 
This  time  they  were  betrayed  by  a  man,  who,  under 
pretense  of  joining  them,  found  out  from  one  of  the 
members  their  places  of  meeting. 

This  time  Rafaravavy,  Paul,  and  Joseph,  all  of 
whom  had  been  already  once  condemned,  were  told 
to  expect  no  mercy.  But  it  seems  as  though  the 
influence  of  her  father  made  the  government  loth  to 
act  very  stringently  in  her  case.  They  were  not  at 
once  apprehended ;  they  therefore  lost  no  time  in 
fleeing  from  the  city. 

In  this  flight  they  were  joined  by  a  number  of 
others  who  saw  death  impending  over  them.  The 


TAMATAVE.  85 

company  was  divided :  three  concealed  themselves 
in  a  wood  near  the  capital.  Here  food  was  brought 
them  by  a  friend,  who  thus  supported  them  for  three 
months,  till  he  had  spent  all  his  means.  The  women 
wandered  about  from  village  to  village.  Many  of 
the  party  were  obliged  to  seek  concealment  in  pits 
and  bogs,  the  queen's  soldiers  being  continually  in 
search  of  them. 

Finally,  by  the  aid  of  Mr.  Jones,  who  visited  Ta- 
matave  for  that  purpose,  a  considerable  party  of  ref 
ugees  were  taken  to  the  Mauritius,  whence  six,  Ra- 
faravavy  among  the  number,  embarked  for  England. 
After  this  escape  the  persecutions  were  carried  on 
with  much  greater  vigor,  as  I  have  before  told  you, 
and  doubtless  very  many  faithful  Christians  suffered 
as  much  as  poor  Kafaravavy,  without  being  able,  in 
the  end,  to  make  good  their  escape  from  their  savage 
persecutors ;  for,  shortly  after  the  departure  of  the 
party  with  Mr.  Jones,  all  the  ports  of  Eastern  Mad 
agascar  were  closed  against  French  and  British  ships, 
and  that  avenue  of  escape  thus  closed. 

Some  years  after  the  queen  had  caused  the  ports 
of  her  territory  to  be  shut  against  the  ships  of  civ 
ilized  nations,  a  French  vessel  made  an  attack  upon 
Tamatave.  The  natives  seem  to  have  resisted  the 
invasion.  They  cut  off  two  boats'  crews  of  the  at 
tacking  party.  These  were  beheaded,  and  their 
heads  stuck  upon  the  palisades  which  form  the  de 
fenses  of  the  town.  When  I  was  in  Port  Louis  in 
1850,  news  was  received  there  that  the  queen  had 


86  STORIES    OP    THE    1ST, AND    WORLD. 

determined  to  permit  trade  at  Tamatave.  Ships 
were  immediately  fitted  out  to  sail  thither,  for  the 
oxen  of  Madagascar  are  much  valued  at  the  Isle  of 
France,  and  the  trade  is  very  important  to  the  in 
habitants. 

I  was  in  one  of  the  first  ships  that  entered  Tama 
tave  Bay  after  the  restrictions  were  removed.  We 
were  permitted  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  little  gathering 
of  huts  which  formed  at  that  time  the  town.  Over 
the  gateway  by  which  we  entered  we  saw  twenty 
skulls  stuck  upon  the  sharp  points  of  the  palisades. 
They  were  bleached  white  from  several  years'  ex 
posure  to  the  rain  and  winds. 

When  the  governor  of  the  Mauritius  was  inform 
ed  that  these  skulls  were  the  remains  of  the  French 
boats'  crews  who  had  been  murdered  some  years 
previously,  he  sent  a  request  to  the  authorities  to 
have  them  taken  down  and  decently  interred.  This 
was,  however,  refused,  by  order  of  the  queen,  who 
had  the  captains  of  vessels  informed  that  if  they  did 
not  like  the  skulls,  they  need  not  visit  the  Bay. 

Since  then,  I  have  understood,  several  other  ports 
on  the  eastern  coast  have  been  opened,  and  mission 
aries  are  in  readiness  at  Port  Louis,  waiting  for  the 
good  tidings  that  the  land  is  once  more  thrown  open 
to  Gospel  influence.  Let  us  pray,  children,  with 
one  of  the  poor  martyrs  of  Tananarivou,  whose  last 
words  as  he  was  tied  to  the  stake  were,  "  O  God, 
open  the  eyes  of  the  Queen  of  Madagascar  !" 


EVENING  THE  TITTRD. 

"ALBERT  ate  a  piece  of  bread  and  butter  this 
evening  for  his  supper,"  said  little  Fanny,  with  a 
roguish  twinkle  in  her  eyes,  as  she  took  her  accus 
tomed  place  on  George's  knee. 

"I  could  not  get  any  rice,  and  so  I  thought  it 
was  not  a  fair  trial,"  replied  Albert. 

George.  I  think  you  found,  though,  that  it  is  not 
so  easy  to  do  without  bread.  It  is  well  enough  to 
try  such  matters  sometimes.  It  makes  us  feel  more 
grateful  for  the  blessings  we  enjoy,  many  of  which 
we  have  become  so  accustomed  to  that  we  take  them 
as  matters  of  course. 

Having  heard  of  an  island  of  which  civilized  na 
tions  know  almost  less  than  they  do  of  the  interior 
of  Africa,  and  the  inhabitants  of  which  are  yet 
plunged  in  the  darkest  barbarism,  while  the  extreme 
unhealthiness  of  the  climate  seems  to  bid  defiance  to 
the  advances  of  European  civilization,  we  will  now 
take  a  peep  at  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  fertile 
islands  of  the  tropics.  William,  can  you  tell  me 
how  Java  is  bounded  ? 

William.  Java  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
Java  Sea,  and  on  the  south  by  the  Indian  Ocean. 

George.  Yes ;  and  if  you  look  at  the  map,  you 
will  sec  that  to  the  east  of  it  lies  the  little  isle  of 


88  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Bali,  while  on  the  west  is  the  large  and  interesting 
island  of  Sumatra,  of  which,  perhaps,  we  shall  by- 
und-by  have  somewhat  to  say.  From  each  of  these 
islands  Java  is  separated  by  a  strait,  and  it  has  been 
supposed  by  geographers  that,  some  thousands  of 
years  ago,  all  these  islands  were  united,  forming 
thus  almost  a  continent.  The  Javans,  indeed,  have 
a  tradition  that,  in  former  times,  the  islands  of  Su 
matra,  Java,  Bali,  and  Sumbawa,  which,  as  you  will 
see  on  the  atlas,  closely  adjoin  each  other  in  the  or 
der  I  have  named  them,  were  united ;  and  their  tra 
dition  farther  states  that,  after  three  thousand  rainy 
seasons  from  the  time  of  their  separation,  these  isles 
shall  again  be  brought  together. 

Scientific  men  have  declared  it  quite  probable 
that  all  the  islands  now  known  as  the  Malay  Archi 
pelago  were  once  joined  to  the  peninsula  of  Malacca, 
and  suppose  that  the  separations  were  caused  by  the 
influence  of  volcanoes,  which  abound  in  those  re 
gions  of  the  earth. 

I  have  not  been  able  to  find  any  mention  made 
of  Java  by  any  of  the  ancient  geographers.  In 
modern  times,  the  Portuguese,  of  whom  I  spoke  to 
you  in  the  last  story,  first  established  commercial 
relations  with  it.  After  Vasco  de  Gama  had  proved 
that  ships  could  sail  south  without  danger  of  being 
burned  up,  and  had — much  to  his  own  surprise,  I 
dare  say — discovered  the  passage  to  India  by  way 
of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  Portuguese,  under 
whose  orders  he  was  sailing:,  sent  out  numbers  of 


DUTCH    SETTLEMENT.  89 

vessels  to  make  discoveries,  and  take  possession  of 
the  strange  lands  in  the  name  of  the  Portuguese 
king. 

Sumatra  was  the  first  island  of  the  Malay  Archi 
pelago  visited  by  these  navigators.  Alphonso  de 
Albuquerque  planted  his  pillars  of  possession  and  the 
flag  of  his  country  on  that  island  in  1510,  more  than 
340  years  ago.  In  1513  he  had  the  first  communi 
cation  with  Javanese.  The  inhabitants  of  this  and 
the  neighboring  islands  seem  already  at  that  time  to 
have  been  the  possessors  of  a  fair  share  of  civiliza 
tion.  They  attended  to  agricultural  pursuits,  and, 
in  vessels  built  by  themselves,  transported  the  pro 
ductions  of  their  islands  to  other  ports  for  exchange, 
thus  carrying  on  a  busy  and  prosperous  trade. 

The  Dutch,  who  have  so  long  almost  monopolized 
the  resources  and  trade  of  Java,  and  have  still  pos 
session  of  the  most  important  portion  of  its  com 
merce,  made  their  first  voyage  thither  in  1595. 
Their  first  settlement  was  made  some  years  subse 
quently,  at  a  place  called  Bantam.  The  ground  and 
harbor  were  granted  the  Dutch  admiral  for  defend 
ing  the  King  of  Bantam  against  the  Portuguese, 
with  whom  he  was  at  war. 

Batavia,  at  present  the  principal  colonial  city  in 
the  island,  and  long  one  of  the  most  important  places 
in  the  Orient,  was  founded  in  1610.  Its  original 
name  was  Jiikatra.  It  received  the  name  Batavia 
in  1621. 

The  first  visitors  to  the  island  found  its  inhabit- 


90  STORIES    OF  THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

ants  to  be  Mohammedans ;  but  the  existence  of  nu 
merous  monuments  in  various  parts  of  the  island,  as 
well  as  records  of  its  history  which  have  been  pre 
served  by  the  Javanese  nobles  and  chiefs,  prove  that 
the  religion  of  the  country  before  the  introduction 
of  Mohammedanism  was  that  of  Buddha,  which  now 
prevails  in  Hindostan. 

The  records  of  Javan  history  also  prove  that  not 
till  after  much  internal  disturbance  and  several  wars 
was  the  religion  of  Mohammed  established.  The 
period  assigned  for  this  event  is  the  year  1400,  or 
little  more  than  a  century  before  the  first  visit  of  the 
Portuguese. 

One  of  the  early  Portuguese  navigators  says  of 
this  island :  "  The  figure  of  the  island  of  Java  re 
sembles  a  hog  crouched  on  its  fore  legs,  with  its  snout 
to  the  channel  of  Balaberao,  and  its  hind  legs  toward 
the  mouth  of  the  Straits  of  Sunda,  which  is  much 
frequented  by  our  ships." 

Of  the  people  this  navigator  says :  "  They  are  a 
brave  and  determined  race.  *  *  *  The  men  are  ex 
pert  navigators,  in  which  they  claim  priority  of  all 
others;  although  many  give  the  honor  to  the  Chi 
nese,  insisting  that  they  precede  the  Javans.  But  it 
is  certain  that  the  Javans  have  sailed  to  the  Cape 
of  Good  Hope,  and  have  had  intercourse  with  the 
island  of  Madagascar,  on  the  off  side,  where  there 
are  many  people  of  a  brown  color,  and  a  mixed  Javan 
race,  who  are  descended  from  them." 

Thus  we  see  that,  many  hundred  years  perhaps 


VOLCANOES.  01 

before  the  advent  of  Europeans  in  those  islands,  the 
inhabitants  were  possessed  of  many  arts  of  civili/a- 
tion,  and  prosecuted  a  tolerably  extended  commerce. 

We  will  now  speak  of  the  island  as  it  is  at  pres 
ent.  It  is  C30  miles  long,  by  from  35  to  12G  miles 
broad,  and  is  reckoned  to  contain  about  49,730 
square  miles,  which  is  about  one  thousand  square 
miles  less  than  the  State  of  North  Carolina,  and 
about  1C, 000  square  miles  greater  than  Indiana. 

It  is  noted  for  the  variety  of  its  native  productions 
and  the  fertility  of  its  soil.  Its  coast  is  intersected 
by  numerous  bays  and  harbors,  many  capable  of 
containing  large  fleets.  The  interior  is  divided  by 
two  mountain  ranges,  from  which  descend  numerous 
rivers.  Many  of  the  mountains  arc  volcanic ;  and, 
although  no  destructive  eruptions  have  lately  taken 
place,  it  has  been  ascertained  that  no  less  than  eight 
of  the  thirteen  volcanoes  visited  by  travelers  are  ac 
tive — that  is,  contain  fire,  and  may  deluge  the  coun 
try  with  fire  and  molten  lava  at  any  time.  When 
in  an  active  state,  the  volcanoes  are  remarkable  for 
the  quantity  of  sulphur  and  sulphurous  vapors  they 
discharge.  Speaking  of  the  crater  of  one  of  these 
volcanoes,  which  contains  a  lake  strongly  impreg 
nated  with  sulphur,  Sir  Charles  Lyell  says,  "  The 
sulphurous  exhalations  have  killed  tigers,  birds,  and 
innumerable  insects ;  and  the  soft  parts  of  these  an 
imals,  such  as  the  fibres,  muscles,  hair,  &c.,  are  very 
well  preserved,  while  the  bones  are  corroded  and  en 
tirely  destroyed." 


92  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

To  show  you  how  violent  the  eruptions  of  volca 
noes  are  sometimes  in  this  part  of  the  world,  I  will 
give  you  a  little  account  of  that  of  the  Tomboro 
mountain,  in  the  island  of  Sumbawa,  in  April,  1815. 
The  period  during  which  the  mountain  continued  to 
vomit  forth  fiery  lava  and  ashes  extended  over  eight 
een  days.  The  shocks  were  felt  at  a  distance  of  a 
thousand  miles ;  and  on  Java,  which  is  from  two 
hundred  and  fifty  to  three  hundred  miles  off,  the 
clouds  of  ashes  were  thrown  in  such  dense  showers 
as  to  obscure  the  light  of  the  sun ;  while  in  falling 
they  injured  the  vegetation  to  such  an  extent  as  in 
some  parts  of  the  island  seriously  to  threaten  the  in 
habitants  with  a  famine. 

The  crater  appears  to  have  run  over,  as  a  bowl 
would  when  set  under  a  fountain.  The  lava  ran 
over  on  all  sides,  and  the  entire  mountain  appeared 
like  a  mass  of  liquid  fire.  Showers  of  stones  drop 
ped  on  all  the  country  round.  Shortly  a  violent 
whirlwind  passed  over  the  scene,  tearing  up  the  lar 
gest  trees,  bearing  men,  women,  and  children,  cattle, 
houses,  and  trees,  before  it,  and  carrying  them  in 
many  cases  some  distance  to  sea.  The  sea  itself 
rose  over  twelve  feet  higher  than  it  had  ever  done 
before  in  the  memory  of  the  inhabitants.  Every 
thing  was  blown  down,  burned  by  the  lava,  or  wash 
ed  away  by  the  swelling  waters. 

It  was  ascertained  that  of  twelve  thousand  inhab 
itants  of  the  districts  nearest  the  burning  mountain, 
only  five  or  six  individuals  were  saved.  The  sound 


FALLING    IN    OF    A    MOUNTAIN.  93 

was  noticed  at  a  distance  of  nine  hundred  and  sev 
enty  miles,  while  at  a  distance  of  three  hundred 
miles  the  clouds  of  ashes  were  so  dense  as  to  pro 
duce  utter  darkness.  The  explosions  did  not  cease 
entirely  until  the  loth  of  July,  three  months  after 
the  commencement  of  the  outbreak. 

In  August,  1772,  the  greater  part  of  the  large  vol 
cano  of  Rapandayang,  on  Java,  tumbled  in,  or,  more 
correctly  speaking,  was  swallowed  up  by  the  earth. 
Dr.  Horslield,  a  traveler  of  learning  and  research, 
gives  an  account  of  this  catastrophe.  On  the  llth 
and  12th  of  August  there  was  observed  about  the 
mountain  an  unusually  luminous  cloud.  The  in 
habitants  became  alarmed  at  this  appearance,  and 
fled.  Before,  however,  they  could  all  make  good 
their  escape,  the  mountain  literally  fell  into  the  earth, 
amid  a  tremendous  noise,  and  an  eruption  of  im 
mense  quantities  of  volcanic  matter.  An  extent  of 
ground,  estimated  at  fifteen  miles  long  and  six  broad, 
was  swallowed  up ;  forty  villages  were  destroyed, 
and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  fifty-seven  of 
the  inhabitants  perished.  The  ground  was  hot  to 
the  touch  six  weeks  after  the  catastrophe. 

You  will  see,  from  these  accounts  of  the  vast  force 
and  power  of  these  volcanoes  at  the  present  day,  and 
the  wonderful  transformations  in  the  surface  pro 
duced  by  their  explosions,  that  it  is  quite  possible 
that  all  the  group  of  islands,  of  which  Java  is  one, 
may  at  some  day,  long  past,  have  formed  one  country. 

You  must  not,  however,  suppose,  from  these  ac- 


94  STORIES   OP   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

counts  of  disastrous  eruptions,  that  the  country  is 
periodically  laid  waste  by  torrents  of  lava.  On  the 
contrary,  many  portions  of  Java,  judging  from  the 
size  of  the  trees  growing,  and  the  exceeding  fertility 
and  great  depth  of  the  soil,  seem  never  to  have  been 
injuriously  affected  by  these  explosions;  and,  taken 
altogether,  I  suppose  the  Javanese  do  not  consider 
themselves  much  more  endangered  from  this  cause 
than  do  we. 

The  climate  of  the  island  was  formerly  said  to  be 
exceedingly  unhealthy.  Later  travelers  inform  us, 
however,  that  this  is  true  only  of  the  sea-coast, 
which,  being  low  and  marshy,  is  ravaged  by  deadly 
fevers.  In  the  interior  it  is  not  so  warm,  and  the 
land  being  higher,  it  is  quite  healthy,  even  to  Eu 
ropeans  or  Americans.  Batavia,  the  chief  port  on 
the  island,  has,  however,  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  most  fatal  places  in  the  world,  even  to  con 
stant  residents.  It  owes  this  probably  to  the  fact 
that  it  is  built  in  part  of  ground  redeemed  from  the 
sea,  and,  farther,  to  the  circumstance  that  the  only 
drinking  water  obtainable  is  rain-water,  preserved 
during  the  summer  or  dry  season  in  large  wooden 
tanks,  where  it  soon  becomes  putrid  and  unfit  for 
use.  In  Batavia,  in  sixty-two  years,  87,000  sailors 
and  soldiers  have  died  in  the  hospitals  alone. 

The  island  of  Java  has  no  winter.  It  is  summer 
all  the  year  round ;  and  the  oranges,  bananas,  and 
other  delicious  fruits  which  there  abound  may  be 
seen  growing  on  the  trees  at  all  times,  and  in  all 


JAVANS.  95 

stages  of  perfection — some  ripe,  some  half  ripe,  some 
just  in  the  blossom,  and  others  still  in  the  bud. 
To  us,  who  for  four  or  five  months  of  the  year  see 
the  poor  trees  bereft  of  their  beautiful  foliage,  look 
ing  dreary  and  forlorn,  while  the  surface  of  the  earth 
is  barren  or  covered  with  snow,  the  thought  of 
eternal  summer  seems  delightful.  But  I  doubt  if, 
after  all,  there  is  not  more  of  comfort  in  the  regular 
alternation  of  the  seasons  than  in  the  tiring  same 
ness  of  the  tropical  climates. 

Albert.  I  would  like  to  try  summer  all  the  year 
round,  once.  I  think  I  would  like  it. 

Fanny.  So  would  I.  I  could  play  out  doors  all 
the  time,  and  would  not  get  cold  fingers. 

William.  Yes,  but  you  could  not  sit  so  comfort 
ably  by  a  fire,  and  hear  stories  told  about  strange 
countries,  as  you  are  doing  now.  I  dare  say  the 
Javanese  have  no  fires  in  their  houses. 

George.  No,  they  cook  out  of  doors,  and  never 
know  the  comfort  of  warming  themselves  by  a  nice 
fire  like  this.  As  in  Madagascar,  so  here,  there  is 
a  rainy  season,  which  I  suppose  might  answer  to 
our  winter.  In  Java  this  lasts  from  October  to 
March  or  April;  but  the  rains  are  by  no  means 
steady,  and  there  are  many  days  when  the  weather 
is  as  clear  and  beautiful  as  in  the  dry  season. 

The  Javans  are  a  fine-looking  people.  Their  color 
is  yellow;  their  hair  black,  long,  and  flowing,  and 
sometimes  what  we  call  wavy.  They  are  of  the 
middle  size,  and  rather  slender,  with  small  hands 


96  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

and  feet.  They  have  intelligent  countenances,  bright 
eyes,  a  small  nose,  but,  as  a  general  thing,  ugly 
mouths.  This  arises  from  a  universal  practice  of 
blacking  their  teeth. 

We  admire  nothing  more  in  one's  appearance 
than  nice  white  teeth.  The  Javans,  on  the  contra 
ry,  think  it  a  disgrace  to  allow  theirs  to  remain 
"white,  like  a  dog's  teeth."  Accordingly,  when 
children  are  about  eight  or  nine  years  of  age,  their 
teeth  are  filed  to  give  them  a  peculiar  shape,  and 
then  blackened  with  a  dye.  As  the  enamel  is  filed 
off,  the  dye  soon  strikes  in,  and  in  a  short  time  the 
teeth  are  perfectly  black.  The  mouth,  when  opened, 
has  a  horrid  appearance,  and  fills  one  with  disgust. 
The  teeth  soon  decay,  and  before  the  people  become 
very  old,  nearly  all  their  teeth  break  off. 

In  person  the  Javanese  are  active  and  graceful. 
They  are  noted  for  the  flexibility  of  their  bodies 
and  the  agility  of  their  movements.  They  are  very 
neat  in  dress,  and  of  cleanly  habits.  They  gener 
ally  bathe  once  a  day,  and  use  every  means  to  keep 
their  persons  and  clothing  neat.  The  principal  ar 
ticle  of  dress  is  a  kind  of  petticoat  or  skirt,  reach 
ing  from  the  middle  down  to  the  knees.  With  the 
women,  this  commences  under  the  arms,  and  a  vest, 
often  very  tight,  is  worn  over  it.  When  the  men 
are  at  work,  this  petticoat  is  tucked  up  out  of  the 
way.  Those  who  can  afford  it  wear  two  or  three 
vests  of  various  bright  colors,  and  having  short 
sleeves  reaching  only  to  the  elbows.  A  handker- 


JAY  AN    OOSTIM1  99 

chief  is  folded  about  the  head,  in  the  manner  of  a 
turban,  and  when  they  go  out  a  large  hat  of  palm 
leaves  or  split  bamboo,  and  of  the  shape  of  a  wash- 
hand-basin  reversed,  is  placed  over  this,  to  protect 
them  from  the  rain  and  sun. 

Over  their  vests  and  shirts  the  women  wear  a 
loose  gown,  reaching  to  the  knees,  with  sleeves  but 
toning  at  the  wrists.  The  women  do  not  wear  a 
handkerchief  about  their  heads,  but  tie  up  their  hair, 
and  fasten  it  with  ornaments  either  of  brass,  horn, 
silver,  or  gold. 

Both  men  and  women,  and  of  all  classes,  poor  as 
well  as  rich,  wear  rings  on  their  fingers.  With  the 
men  these  are  often  made  of  iron.  Those  worn  by 
the  women  are  of  brass,  or  copper,  or  the  precious 
metals.  The  poorer  people  use  no  protection  for 
the  feet.  The  wealthier  wear  sandals  or  slippers  in 
the  house,  and  nowadays  the  men  often  wear  boots, 
in  the  European  fashion. 

Neither  the  men  nor  the  women  cut  their  hair. 
Both  often  let  it  hang  down  loosely  ;  and  as  the  men 
have  little  or  no  beard,  and  both  sexes  dress  much 
alike,  a  stranger  is  often  at  a  loss  to  know  whether 
a  man  or  woman  stands  before  him.  The  priests 
dress  in  white,  and  wear  large  turbans  like  the 
Arabs. 

This  is  the  usual  dress  of  the  Javanese.  The  ex 
tremely  poor  people  often,  however,  wear  nothing 
but  a  piece  of  cloth  about  the  middle,  and  tie  up 
their  hair,  using  neither  handkerchief  nor  cap. 


100  STORIES    OP   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

The  Javanese  soldier  has  a  dress  peculiar  to  him 
self.  This  consists  of  pantaloons,  buttoned  at  the 
side  from  the  hip  to  the  ankle ;  a  short  skirt  of  fine 
cloth  falling  just  below  the  knee;  a  piece  of  stuff 
rolled  tightly  around  the  body  seven  or  eight  times, 
in  the  manner  of  a  military  sash,  but  reaching  from 
below  the  arms  to  the  hips ;  two  vests,  one  with,  the 
other  without  buttons ;  a  skull-cap,  with  cloth  shade 
for  the  face ;  sandals ;  and,  lastly,  the  sword-belt. 
Three  krises  are  usually  worn  by  each  warrior :  one 
on  each  side,  and  the  other  behind.  One  of  these 
is  his  own  ;  another  has  descended  to  him  as  an 
heir-loom  of  the  family ;  and  the  third  he  receives 
from  his  wife's  father  on  taking  his  wife  home. 
When  the  warrior  goes  to  the  field  of  battle,  he 
dresses  in  his  richest  attire,  and  wears  all  the  jew 
elry  of  which  he  is  the  possessor. 

In  their  manners  the  Javanese  are  affable  and  po 
lite  to  equals,  and  respectful  to  superiors.  When 
we  desire  to  show  our  respect  for  any  one  who  vis 
its  us,  it  is  customary  to  rise,  and  receive  them  in 
a  standing  position.  The  Javanese  judge  the  re 
verse  the  most  respectful.  Thus,  on  the  approach 
of  a  chief  or  eminent  man,  the  common  people  squat 
down  on  the  ground,  sitting  on  their  heels  till  he 
has  passed  by.  When  having  audience  of  the  sul 
tan,  too,  it  is  usual  to  squat  down  in  this  manner. 
To  stand  erect  would  be  thought  a  mark  of  disre 
spect. 

But  there  are  ceremonies  which  you  will  think 


IN    JAVA.  (01 

stranger  still.  Thus,  whenever  an  individual  comes 
into  the  presence  of  his  chief,  he  is  expected  to 
make  an  obeisance  by  closing  his  hands  and  raising 
them  to  his  forehead  ;  and  when  a  child  approaches 
its  father,  the  same  ceremony  is  observed;  from 
which  I  judge  that  the  Javanese  children  are  much 
better  trained  than  many  of  the  little  boys  and  girls 
of  our  country,  who  pay  no  respect  at  all  to  their 
parents. 

Fanny.  You  promised  to  tell  me  something  of 
how  the  little  children  dress  and  do. 

George.  The  children  do  not  wear  any  clothes  at 
all  until  they  are  seven  or  eight  years  old.  As  it  is 
always  warm  weather,  they  run  about  a  good  deal, 
and  play  out-doors  all  the  time.  They  get  used  to 
running  about  without  clothing,  just  as  little  boys 
in  America  become  used  to  going  without  shoes  or 
stockings  during  summer.  At  night  they  have  a 
little  mat  of  various  colors  to  sleep  on,  and  perhaps 
a  piece  of  calico,  which  their  mother  gives  them,  to 
cover  themselves  up ;  and,  as  soon  as  it  is  daylight, 
they  jump  up  and  go  to  play  again.  There  are  no 
schools  for  little  children  except  those  the  mission 
aries  have ;  and  most  of  them  do  not  learn  any 
thing,  and  do  nothing  but  eat,  and  drink,  and  sleep, 
except,  perhaps,  practicing  to  throw  a  javelin,  or 
cut  with  little  swords.  This  is  their  life  till  they 
are  twelve  or  thirteen.  Then  they  have  to  help 
their  parents  to  work. 

I  must  now  tell  you  something  more  of  the  con- 


102.  STD&lfiS:   OU    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

duct  of  the  poor  classes  to  the  rich  and  powerful. 
When  the  poorer  people  desire  to  speak  to  a  chief 
or  noble,  they  are  not  allowed  to  address  him  in 
such  language  as  they  use  toward  each  other,  nei 
ther  does  he  answer  them  in  the  language  which  he 
commonly  uses.  There  is  a  peculiar  language,  be 
tokening  inferiority  on  their  part,  which  is  required 
to  be  used  in  such  cases. 

And,  again,  should  a  poor  man  desire  a  favor  of 
a  chief,  he  is  required  to  kiss  the  chiefs  knee,  or  his 
instep,  or  the  sole  of  his  foot,  before  he  is  allowed  to 
present  his  petition. 

Albwt.  I  should  not  like  to  be  a  poor  Javanese. 

George.  No,  nor  a  chief  or  rich  man  either,  my 
boy ;  for  such  servility  degrades  the  chief  as  much 
as  the  poor  man. 

Besides  the  natives,  numbers  of  Chinese,  Malays, 
and  Arabs  are  settled  in  Java.  Next  to  the  Javans, 
the  Chinese  are  the  most  numerous.  They  are  very 
industrious,  and,  although  they  come  to  the  country 
poor,  generally  very  soon  amass  wealth.  During  a 
civil  war  in  1742,  the  Dutch,  who  had  then  posses 
sion  of  a  large  portion  of  the  island,  pronounced 
against  them  a  decree  of  extermination,  and  massa 
cred  great  numbers. 

The  Malays  are  mostly  seamen,  or  in  some  way 
connected  with  the  native  shipping.  Of  the  Arabs, 
some  are  merchants,  but  the  majority  are  priests. 

The  houses  of  the  natives  are  made  of  flattened 
bamboos  plaited  together.  They  are  placed  upon 


HOUSES.  103 

the  ground ;  and  in  that  respect  the  Javan  custom 
differs  from  that  of  neighboring  islands,  where  the 
houses  are  found  universally  built  on  elevated  stakes. 
The  partitions  are  made  of  plaited  bamboo.  The 
roof  is  thatched  with  long  grass  or  bamboo.  There 
is  a  door,  but  no  windows.  As  they  are  out  of 
doors  nearly  all  the  time,  windows  are  not  needed. 

At  one  end  of  the  house  is  the  room  for  the  grown 
people ;  at  the  other  end  is  an  apartment  for  the 
children.  The  beds  are  simply  raised  places  along 
the  wall,  built  of  bamboo,  lined  with  leaves  or  a  lit 
tle  cotton,  and  the  whole  covered  with  a  prettily 
worked  mat.  Of  course,  where  the  people  are 
wealthy,  their  houses  are  larger,  often  having  five 
or  six  rooms,  and  sometimes  being  constructed  of 
bricks  instead  of  bamboo.  The  cost  of  a  house  with 
two  rooms  is  about  four  rupees — that  is,  two  dol 
lars  ;  so  that  a  man  can  have  a  house  of  his  own, 
even  if  he  is  very  poor. 

These  cottages  are  never  found  alone.  The  na 
tives  love  society,  and  always  build  in  little  villages. 
They  take  care,  when  forming  a  village,  to  have 
each  house  surrounded  by  a  piece  of  ground,  which 
serves  as  a  garden  for  the  proprietors.  In  this  gar 
den,  oranges,  bananas,  pine-apples,  mangostins,  mel 
ons,  shaddocks,  and  all  the  other  delicious  fruits  of 
Java,  are  planted.  These  plants  being  carefully  cul 
tivated,  the  little  cottage  is  soon  almost  buried  in 
their  foliage.  A  Javan  village,  thus  embowered  in 
green,  is  a  beautiful  sight.  No  doubt,  in  these  little 


104  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

villages  the  people  enjoy  life  very  quietly  and  peace 
fully. 

Neither  the  camel  nor  the  elephant  is  found  on 
Java.  There  is  a  breed  of  small  but  fine  horses, 
however,  which  are  used  by  the  wealthier  Javans 
for  riding.  The  buiFalo  is  mostly  used  as  a  beast  of 
draft  and  in  agriculture.  It  is  patient  and  endur 
ing,  and  is  therefore  a  very  serviceable  animal.  The 
cows  give  but  little  milk,  probably  because  with  the 
Javanese  milk  is  not  an  important  article  of  food, 
and  they  neglect  to  milk  their  kine. 

Besides  the  buiFalo  and  a  species  of  cattle  origi 
nally  brought  from  the  Malabar  coast,  both  which  are 
worked  in  the  field,  the  natives  raise  a  few  sheep 
and  goats.  The  goat  is  a  great  favorite  all  over  the 
East  Indies.  It  takes  care  of  itself,  and  breeds  fast, 
and  is  therefore,  perhaps,  the  most  profitable  stock 
for  the  poor.  Sheep  are  little  valued.  Their  wool 
is  coarse,  and  little  used  except  to  stuff  saddles  and 
pillows. 

The  Chinese  raise  large  numbers  of  hogs.  The 
Javans,  who  are  Mohammedans,  abominate  pork. 
I  once  saw  a  whole  boat's  crew  leap  out  of  their 
boat  into  the  water  because  the  cook  of  our  vessel, 
who  had  gotten  angry  at  them,  threw  a  piece  of  pork 
into  the  boat.  After  removing  the  pork  they  re- 
entered  the  boat,  but  before  they  would  again  return 
to  their  work  every  vestige  of  grease  was  scraped 
from  the  seats  and  bottom  of  the  boat.  If  a  piece 
of  pork  is  brought  in  contact  with  the  body  of  a 


\MU>    ANIMALS    OF    JAVA.  105 

Javan,  the  place  must  be  immediately  purified  by  be 
ing  seared  with  a  red-hot  iron.  And,  with  many  of 
the  very  strict,  even  contact  with  one  who  eats  pork 
is  thought  to  produce  defilement. 

Comparatively  few  sheep  and  goats  are  raised  by 
the  Javans;  but  the  country  abounds  with  fowls, 
and  their  meat  is  much  more  used  than  any  other. 
At  Java  Head,  a  stopping-place  for  Indiamen,  fowls 
are  sold  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  for  a  dollar ;  and, 
in  many  of  the  less  frequented  harbors,  one  can  have 
the  pick  of  the  barn-yard  at  the  rate  of  forty  for  a 
dollar. 

Of  wild  animals  the  largest  are  the  wild  Javan 
ox,  the  rhinoceros,  and  the  stag.  Besides  these,  ti 
gers,  leopards,  jackals,  wild  hogs,  wild  dogs,  and  sev 
eral  species  of  serpents,  are  met  with  in  the  woods. 

Monkeys  abound  in  the  forests,  and  often  prove 
troublesome  to  the  traveler.  I  knew  two  sailors 
who  deserted  from  a  whale-ship  at  Anjer  Point. 
They  fled  to  the  woods,  thinking  that,  as  cocoanuts 
were  to  be  had  in  plenty,  they  could  remain  there 
until  their  ship  should  sail  away.  But  in  all  their 
wanderings  they  were  followed  by  a  large  troop  of 
monkeys,  who  were  continually  pelting  them  with 
rotten  sticks,  cocoanuts,  and  lemons,  while  they  kept 
up  a  constant  chattering,  and  ever  and  anon  made 
demonstrations  as  if  about  to  attack  them  in  earn 
est,  and  hand  to  hand.  For  two  days  our  run 
aways  remained  in  the  woods ;  but  the  third  morn 
ing  they  came  down  to  the  landing  and  gave  them- 


106  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

selves  up,  stating  that  the  monkeys  had  worried  them 
till  they  could  stand  it  no  longer. 

Java  has  the  largest  bats  in  the  world.  There  is 
found  a  kind  which  measures  five  feet  across  the 
wings.  During  the  day,  great  numbers  of  these  may 
be  seen  hanging  to  the  branches  of  trees,  asleep.  At 
night  they  ravage  the  orchards  and  fields.  There 
are  found,  also,  on  the  island  two  kinds  of  civet  cats, 
from  which  the  Javanese  extract  a  musk-like  sub 
stance,  of  which  they  are  passionately  fond. 

The  streams  are  stocked  with  the  kayman,  a  spe 
cies  of  crocodile.  The  natives  hunt  for  and  eat  their 
eggs.  Upward  of  twenty  varieties  of  poisonous 
snakes  are  known  on  the  island,  and  some  of  these 
are  much  dreaded  by  the  natives. 

Tiger-hunts  are  among  the  amusements  of  the 
Javans.  "When  information  is  given  that  a  tiger  has 
been  seen,  the  people  of  a  whole  neighborhood  will 
collect,  armed  with  spears,  and,  surrounding  the 
woods  in  which  the  animal  lies  concealed,  prepare 
to  chase  him  from  his  den.  This  is  done  by  beating 
a  gong,  by  loud  shouts,  and  sometimes  by  setting  fire 
to  the  brushwood  in  the  vicinity.  All  are  on  the 
alert,  and,  as  he  rushes  from  his  lair,  he  is  generally 
at  once  speared.  Should  he  break  through  the  ranks 
of  his  enemies,  they  follow  him,  and  take  no  rest  till 
he  is  caught.  In  some  districts,  where  the  people 
are  few  and  the  tigers  abound,  they  are  poisoned  by 
a  preparation  which  the  natives  expose  on  a  piece  of 
rag  in  the  neighborhood  which  the  animals  frequent. 


SPORTS.  107 

A  favorite  spectacle  with  the  Javans  is  the  com 
bat  between  a  buffalo  and  tiger.  A  large  cage  of 
bamboo  is  erected,  with  the  slats  sufficiently  far 
apart  to  enable  the  spectators  to  see  the  actions  of 
the  animals  within.  The  buffalo  is  first  placed  in 
the  inclosure.  The  tiger  is  afterward  admitted. 
Sometimes  he  at  once  leaps  upon  the  buffalo,  but 
oftener  he  avoids  the  combat  until  goaded  to  phren- 
sy  by  burning  straw  and  sharp  sticks.  Sometimes, 
too,  the  buffalo  will  not  fight.  In  such  cases  he  is 
exasperated  by  having  boiling  water  poured  upon 
his  back  from  the  top  of  the  inclosure,  and  by  being 
lashed  with  nettles.  The  victory  is  generally  with 
the  buffalo  ;  and  sometimes  one  of  these  animals  will 
kill  three  or  four  tigers  in  succession.  The  combat 
lasts  from  twenty  minutes  to  half  an  hour.  The 
buffalo  seldom  survives  his  victory  more  than  three 
or  four  days,  as  he  is  dreadfully  torn  by  the  claws 
and  teeth  of  the  tiger. 

Such  sports  are  very  cruel ;  yet  we  find  many  na 
tions,  claiming  much  greater  civilization  than  the 
poor  Javanese,  partial  to  these  combats  of  brute 
beasts.  The  Spaniards  are  enthusiastically  fond  of 
bull-fights,  and  even  the  English  pit  the  mastiff 
against  the  bull.  In  former  times  in  Java,  when  a 
man  was  convicted  of  any  heinous  crime,  he  was 
condemned  to  fight  with  a  tiger.  For  this  purpose, 
he  was  provided  with  a  blunted  kris,  and  then  in 
troduced  into  a  large  cage  containing  a  tiger.  If  he 
killed  the  animal  his  life  was  spared. 


108  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

The  most  important  vegetable  product  of  Java  is 
rice.  Of  this  there  are  upward  of  a  hundred  kinds. 
Indian-corn,  beans,  yams,  sugar-cane,  coffee,  pepper, 
indigo,  tobacco,  nutmegs,  mace,  cloves,  cinnamon, 
and  tea,  are  also  grown  in  quantities  for  export. 
Cotton  and  cocoanuts  are  likewise  objects  of  culti 
vation.  From  the  last  a  fine  oil  is  made.  The 
sago-tree  is  grown,  but  to  only  a  very  moderate  ex 
tent.  The  natives  do  not  understand  the  method 
of  preparing  sago  from  the  pith  of  the  tree.  They 
use  its  large  leaves  for  covering  houses. 

Albert  I  would  like  to  see  all  these  plants  grow 
ing.  It  must  be  a  beautiful  sight. 

Fanny.  I  would  like  to  have  a  cinnamon-tree  for 
my  own. 

Albert.  I  would  rather  have  a  patch  of  sugar-cane. 

George.  But,  beautiful  as  the  fields  of  rice  and 
sugar-cane,  and  the  plantations  of  cinnamon,  nut 
meg,  coffee,  and  pepper  doubtless  are,  I  expect  you 
would  much  rather  see  and  have  a  share  in  the  or 
chards  and  gardens  of  Java.  Think  of  whole  acres 
of  oranges,  lemons,  shaddocks,  pomegranates,  ba 
nanas,  pine-apples,  custard-apples,  guavas,  mangos, 
and  many  other  fruits,  of  which  scarcely  the  name 
is  known  in  this  country. 

The  mangustin,  which  has  been  called  the  most  de 
licious  fruit  in  the  world,  is  a  native  of  Java.  It 
is  the  size  of  a  small  orange,  and  has  a  thick  rind, 
something  like  the  outside  shell  of  a  walnut.  With 
in  there  is  a  soft  pulpy  kernel,  which  melts  away  in 


FRUITS.  10'» 

your  mouth,  seeming  a  mass  of  delicious  sweetness. 
The  shaddock  is  formed  just  like  an  orange,  but  is 
as  large  as  a  cantelope  melon.  The  pomegranate  is 
a  refreshing  and  perfectly  harmless  fruit,  much  liked 
wherever  it  is  grown.  The  mango  is  yellow,  and 
full  of  juice.  To  be  enjoyed  properly,  it  must  be 
eaten  over  a  tub  of  water.  The  juice  leaves  an  in 
delible  stain  upon  clothing,  and  will  run  all  over  the 
hands  and  arms  while  eating.  In  the  East  Indies, 
people  sit  down  to  a  basket  full  of  mangos,  and  fin 
ish  them  all  before  rising. 

The  tamarind-tree  is  found  in  great  plenty  all 
over  Java.  In  the  mountainous  regions  peaches  and 
Chinese  pears  are  grown.  In  short,  almost  every 
fruit  but  apples  can  be  found  in  some  part  of  Java. 
There  are  no  apples  in  any  part  of  the  Indies. 

Among  these  orchards,  and  through  the  woods 
generally,  are  found  flocks  of  strange  and  beautiful 
birds :  parrots  and  parroquets,  of  all  sizes  and  colors, 
from  the  common  green  parrot  to  a  diminutive  chat 
terer,  who,  on  a  body  the  size  of  a  sparrow's,  dis 
plays  nearly  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow ;  Java  spar 
rows — a  quarrelsome,  noisy  set,  who  are  either  wran 
gling  or  eating  from  morning  till  night  —  and  pea 
fowl  abound  in  the  woods,  while  on  the  sea-coast  the 
swallow,  whose  nests  are  eaten  by  the  Chinese, 
builds  in  the  caverns  and  on  the  deserted  shores. 

The  most  valuable  forest-tree  of  Java  is  the  teak. 
This  is  a  dark-colored  hard  wood,  suitable  for  va 
rious  uses,  but  principally  valued  for  ship-building 


110  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

purposes.  In  the  bottom  of  a  vessel  it  will  outlast 
any  other  known  wood,  and  has  the  additional  ad 
vantage  of  being  the  only  wood  used  in  ship-build 
ing  that  is  completely  impervious  to  the  attacks  of 
the  ship-worm.  This  animal  abounds  in  the  bays 
of  the  Indies ;  and  so  fatal  and  speedy  is  its  work, 
that  vessels  have  been  found  completely  riddled  by 
it  in  a  few  weeks.  Most  vessels  are  protected  from 
these  attacks  by  being  coppered  ;  but,  when  built  of 
teak,  this  expense  can  be  spared. 

Although  the  Javans  are  almost  exclusively  an 
agricultural  people,  their  farm  implements  are  ex 
ceedingly  rude  and  few  in  number.  The  plow  is 
made  entirely  of  wood,  the  point  only  being  tipped 
with  iron.  It  is  a  very  poor  instrument,  as  you 
will  see  by  the  representation  of  it  on  the  opposite 
page.  It  is  so  light  that,  when  the  Javan  farmer  has 
finished  his  day's  work  and  unhitched  his  cattle,  he 
generally  shoulders  his  plow  and  walks  home  with  it. 

A  rude  wooden  hoe,  tipped  with  iron,  answers  the 
purpose  of  spade  and  hoe.  They  have  also  a  rake, 
and  a  reaping-knife  for  rice.  This  last  is  a  singular 
instrument.  Instead  of  cutting  off  the  straw  near 
the  ground,  the  Javanese  reaper  catches  each  head 
separately,  and  cuts  it  off  with  his  knife.  This  te 
dious  labor  they  adhere  to  because,  as  they  say, 
their  gods  would  be  displeased  were  they  to  refuse  it, 
the  severity  of  the  work  being  regarded  as  a  thank- 
offering  from  the  laborer.  The  men  plow,  harrow, 
and  weed  the  land ;  the  women  transplant  and  reap, 


AGRICULTURAL    OPERATIONS.  1  1  I 


JAVAN    l'LO\V,   HOE,    AND   UEAPINfj    INSTRUMENT. 

and,  where  beasts  of  burden  are  not  used,  also  carry 
the  grain  to  the  granary. 

As  in  our  description  of  Madagascar  I  gave  you 
some  account  of  the  manner  of  cultivating  rice,  so 
I  will  now  tell  you  somewhat  of  the  manner  in 
which  coffee  is  grown. 

Fanny.  William  says  the  coffee  we  have  is  brought 
from  Java.  Is  that  so? 

George.  Yes  ;  and,  if  you  like,  you  may  get  a  few 
grains  from  the  pantry,  and  then  we  shall  see  what 
we  are  talking  about,  for  I  shall  aim  to  give  you 
a  history  of  these  very  berries.  The  coffee -plant 


112  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

was  first  introduced  on  the  island  of  Java  by  the 
Dutch  in  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century. 
A  rich  soil  is  necessary  to  its  successful  culture,  and 
the  lower  temperament  of  the  elevated  plains  is  fa 
vorable  to  its  healthy  condition  and  continued  bear 
ing.  Under  the  Dutch  regulations,  which  are  now 
enforced  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  island,  the  culti 
vation  of  coffee  is  compulsory.  Each  native  family 
in  the  agricultural  districts  is  made  to  take  care  of 
one  thousand  plants,  and  held  responsible  for  their 
proper  attendance,  and  the  production  of  a  due 
amount  of  the  berries. 

This  is,  of  course,  great  tyranny.  The  Dutch 
have  always  ruled  their  Indian  colonies  with  cruel 
ty.  They  seem  to  be  tyrants  by  nature.  I  remem 
ber  with  horror  the  state  of  semi-starvation  and  ut 
ter,  hopeless  degradation  in  which  exist  the  slaves 
on  their  island  of  Buen  Ayre,  in  the  West  Indies, 
whither  I  sailed  once  for  salt. 

Official  researches  in  Java  proved  that,  toward 
the  close  of  the  last  century,  so  cruelly  did  the  Eu 
ropean  agents  overtask  the  laboring  classes  of  Java 
nese,  that  in  many  cases  they  had  not  left  them  suf 
ficient  time  to  raise  food  for  their  families,  and,  in 
consequence,  many  actually  died  of  famine,  while 
others  were  driven  into  the  mountains,  there  to  lin 
ger  out  a  wretched  existence  in  freedom  and  want. 

When  a  spot  has  been  settled  upon  for  a  coffee- 
plantation,  it  is  first  inclosed  by  a  hedge  of  quick- 
growing  plants,  which  must  run  at  a  distance  of 


HOW    COFFEE    GROWS.  113 

about  twelve  feet  from  the  outermost  row  of  coffee- 
trees.  Outside  the  hedge  a  ditch  is  dug,  to  drain  off 
the  surplus  moisture  of  the  field. 

The  plants  are  grown  from  the  seed  in  nurseries. 
Those  berries  which  remain  on  the  tree  to  ripen 
fully  become  black  and  dry.  In  this  state  they  are 
set  out,  and  lightly  covered  with  rich  soil.  When 
they  have  two  leaves,  they  are  transplanted  into 
beds,  one  foot  apart,  and  covered  with  sheds  to 
keep  the  sun  off.  Eighteen  months  after  the  first 
transplanting  they  are  ready  for  removal  to  the  plant 
ation  where  they  are  to  bear. 

The  plantations  are  laid  out  in  squares.  Holes 
two  feet  deep  are  dug,  six  feet  apart,  to  receive  the 
young  coffee-plants,  and  in  the  centre,  between  every 
four  plants,  a  shade-tree,  which  bears  the  Javanese 
name  of  dadap,  is  planted,  to  protect  the  coffee  from 
the  too  fervent  heat  of  the  sun.  The  young  plants 
require  to  be  handled  with  much  care  in  setting  out, 
as  their  roots  are  very  tender.  In  some  countries 
the  coffee-plant  does  well  without  shade-trees,  and 
even  on  the  more  elevated  table-lands  of  Java  the 
dadap  is  used  but  sparingly ;  but  on  the  low  lands  it 
is  found  necessary.  It  is  found,  too,  that  on  the 
low  lands  the  berries  produced  are  large  but  com 
paratively  tasteless,  while  the  plants  in  the  more  el 
evated  regions  produce  smaller  berries,  which  have 
a  most  exquisite  flavor. 

The  tree  bears  fruit  in  the  second  season  after  it 
is  transplanted.  At  the  end  of  the  rainy  season, 
If 


114  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

during  which  the  plantation  is  set  out,  any  plants 
which  have  not  thriven  are  replaced,  and  thereafter 
the  chief  labor  is  to  weed  and  cultivate  the  ground, 
operations  which  are  generally  performed  three  or 
four  times  a  year.  The  coffee-tree  is  never  pruned, 
but  permitted  to  grow  up  in  native  luxuriance.  In 
favored  situations  it  often  attains  a  height  of  sixteen 
feet. 

There  is  no  regular  season  for  gathering  the  fruit. 
It  matures  during  nine  months  of  the  year.  The 
gathering  generally  commences  in  June  or  July,  and 
continues  till  March  or  April.  Two  grains  of  cof 
fee  are  contained  in  each  pod  or  husk.  As  soon  as 
these  pods  become  of  a  dark  crimson  color  they  are 
fit  to  gather.  For  this  labor  a  light  bamboo  ladder 
is  used.  The  pods  or  berries  are  picked  one  by  one, 
care  being  taken  not  to  injure  the  buds  and  blossoms 
which  are  scattered  among  the  riper  pods.  This 
labor  of  collecting  the  crop  is  left  to  the  women  and 
children,  the  husband  meanwhile  working  perhaps 
to  provide  sustenance  for  the  family. 

The  average  produce  of  a  coffee-tree  is  stated  to 
be  not  over  two  kati,  about  two  and  a  half  pounds. 
Some,  however,  yield  much  more,  and  as  high  as 
twenty  kati  have  been  gathered  from  one  tree.  There 
are  three  gatherings.  The  first  is  but  small;  the 
second  is  the  most  abundant ;  the  last  is  a  gleaning 
of  the  plantation.  In  favorable  situations  the  cof 
fee  plant  yields  fruit  for  twenty  years.  But  on  the 
lower  lands  of  Java  ten  years  is  stated  to  be  its  av- 


DRYING    AND    PACKING    COFFEE.  115 

cragc  duration,  and  during  only  seven  of  these  it 
bears. 

Adjoining  the  villages  by  which  coffee  is  culti 
vated  are  drying-houses.  Thither  the  newly-gath 
ered  berries  are  carried,  and  spread  out  on  hurdles 
about  four  feet  from  the  floor.  Under  these  hurdles 
a  slow  wood  fire  is  kept  up  during  the  night.  The 
roof  of  the  drying-house,  which  is  movable,  is  re 
moved  morning  and  evening  to  admit  fresh  air,  while 
during  the  heat  of  the  day  it  is  kept  tightly  closed. 
Berries  dried  in  the  sun  are  lighter  in  color  and 
weight,  and  larger  in  size,  than  those  artificially 
dried,  while  they  have  less  of  the  fine  aroma  of  cof 
fee.  The  Javans  think  that  drying  the  coffee  by  a 
wood  fire  gives  the  berry  a  peculiar  and  valuable 
flavor. 

When  thoroughly  dried,  the  berries  are  placed  in 
bags  of  buffalo  skin,  and  pounded  until  the  husk 
drops  off  and  liberates  the  coffee-beans.  These  must 
now  be  separated  from  the  husks,  and  are  then  placed 
in  bags  or  baskets,  and  deposited  on  platforms  or 
shelves  raised  some  distance  from  the  ground,  where 
they  remain  until  the  time  comes  to  carry  the  year's 
produce  to  the  sea-port  whence  it  is  to  be  shipped  to 
all  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

At  the  season  of  delivery,  great  quantities  are 
brought  down  at  once,  most  generally  on  the  backs 
of  buffaloes  ;  but  often,  where  the  roads  are  difficult, 
men  have  to  carry  the  load  on  their  shoulders. 
Trains  of  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  men  or 


116  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

buffaloes  may  be  thus  seen  at  once  going  down  to 
ward  the  sea-coast.  Sir  Stamford  Raffles  says  that, 
owing  to  the  oppression  and  roguery  of  the  Eu 
ropean  agents  previous  to  1808  (when  the  island 
came  for  a  short  time  into  the  possession  of  the 
French),  it  is  not  easy  to  ascertain  what  remunera 
tion  the  natives  received  for  the  coffee  they  raised. 
During  the  French  occupation  they  received  at  the 
rate  of  a  little  over  one  dollar  per  hundred  weight 
for  the  coffee  delivered,  and  this  had  often  to  be  car 
ried  a  distance  of  sixty  miles  over  roads  where  it 
was  impossible  for  one  man  to  carry  more  than  half 
a  hundred  weight.  It  was  then  sold  at  twenty  dol 
lars  per  hundred  weight,  making,  of  course,  an  im 
mense  profit  to  the  European  factors. 

Rice  is,  as  I  have  before  said,  the  chief  article  of 
food  of  the  Javanese.  But,  besides  this,  they  have 
a  great  variety  of  fish,  flesh,  fowl,  and  vegetables. 
Being  Mohammedans,  they,  of  course,  abstain  from 
the  use  of  pork ;  but  of  other  meats  they  partake 
freely.  Even  horse-flesh  is  used  and  liked.  The 
hide  of  the  buffalo,  cut  into  slices,  soaked,  and  fried, 
forms  a  favorite  dish.  A  kind  of  worm,  found  in 
teak  and  other  woods,  is  extensively  used,  as  are 
also  white  ants.  The  latter  are  decoyed  from  their 
nests,  and  caught  in  large  basins,  which  being  filled 
with  water,  the  ants  are  soon  drowned,  when  they 
are  thought  ready  for  the  market  or  kitchen. 

Indian  corn  they  only  use  as  roasting  ears,  saving 
none  of  the  ripe  corn  to  make  meal  of.  Eggs  pack- 


WHAT   THE    JAVANESE    EAT.  117 

cd  in  salt  are  extensively  sold  and  eaten.  Each  egg 
is  separately  enveloped  in  a  mixture  of  salt  and  ashes, 
or  salt  and  pounded  bricks.  Being  then  wrapped 
each  in  a  leaf,  they  are  set  away  in  a  tub  till  the 
salt  penetrates  the  shell  and  flavors  the  egg,  when 
they  are  ready  for  use.  The  Javanese  are  very  fond 
of  coloring  their  food.  Rice  is  made  yellow  or  brown 
by  the  addition  of  some  coloring  matter.  Pies  and 
cakes  are  always  colored,  and  even  eggs  are  boiled 
in  dye-stuffs,  to  make  them  more  attractive  to  the 
epicureans. 

They  eat  two  meals  per  day ;  one  just  before  noon, 
and  the  other  at  or  after  sunset,  upon  the  conclusion 
of  their  daily  labor.  Those  who  are  obliged  to  work 
in  the  morning  generally  have  some  coffee  and  rice- 
cakes  prepared  for  them,  but  the  regular  breakfast 
meal  is  unknown  to  them.  They  have  no  tables, 
but  spread  a  mat  upon  the  floor  or  ground,  upon 
which  the  dishes  are  set,  and  about  which  the  fam 
ily  gather,  sitting  upon  their  haunches,  in  the  man 
ner  common  in  all  parts  of  the  Indies.  Water  is  al 
most  the  only  beverage  they  use.  Coffee  is  used 
very  sparingly.  The  wealthier  people  have  their 
water  boiled,  and  drink  it  warm. 

They  use  various  stimulants,  among  which  tobac 
co,  the  betel  leaf,  and  opium  are  the  chief.  Besides 
these,  the  areca  nut,  cardamom  seeds,  and  cloves 
may  be  mentioned  as  the  usual  contents  of  their 
sirri  boxes.  Tobacco  is  mostly  chewed.  Opium  is 
both  chewed  and  smoked.  For  smoking,  a  small 


118  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

portion  is  placed  between  some  tobacco  leaves,  and 
this  is  laid  in  the  bowl  of  a  pipe. 

The  opium  user  is  the  most  wretched  being  in 
the  world.  When  not  intoxicated  with  its  fumes, 
he  suffers  almost  inconceivable  tortures.  He  is  un 
fitted  for  exertion  of  any  kind,  and  loses  all  sense  of 
propriety  or  responsibility.  He  neglects  all  his  af 
fairs,  and  will  make  any  sacrifice  to  procure  the  drug 
which  causes  nis  misery.  He  grows  prematurely 
old,  loses  his  mind,  becomes  physically  debilitated, 
and,  if  he  continues  in  the  use  of  the  drug,  is  sure 
to  die  at  an  early  age,  amid  tortures  which  can  hard 
ly  be  described. 

Among  the  Malays  the  use  of  opium  frequently 
produces  a  species  of  insanity.  When  in  this  state 
their  passions  seem  roused  to  the  utmost,  and  they 
rush  from  their  houses,  sword  in  hand,  cutting  and 
stabbing  at  all  they  meet.  This  is  called  running 
a  muck.  The  law  holds  any  one  blameless  who 
should  kill  a  Malay  running  a  muck.  Opium  is  ex 
tensively  used  by  the  Malays  and  Chinese ;  and,  to 
the  disgrace  of  England,  the  British  East  India  Com 
pany  derives  a  great  part  of  its  income  from  a  mo 
nopoly  it  has  in  the  trade  in  this  destructive  poison. 

Sir  Stamford  Raffles  mentions  no  less  than  thirty 
different  handicrafts  as  being  practiced  among  the 
Javanese.  As  Albert  likes  to  hear  words  in  a  for 
eign  language,  I  will  give  you  a  list  of  these  trades, 
with  the  names  by  which  they  are  known  in  Javan  : 
ironsmith,  paudi ;  coppersmith,  sayang  ;  goldsmith, 


JAVANESE    TKADKS.  119 

kemasan ;  potter,  kundi;  kris-sheath-maker,  merang'gi; 
carpenter,  inergangso ;  carver,  tukang  ukir ;  spear- 
shaft-maker,  tukang  deder ;  mat-maker,  tukang  lam- 
pet;  turner,  tukang  babot ;  brush-maker,  tukang  boto; 
stone-cutter,  tukang  u'atu  ;  wayang-maker,  tukang 
natah  icayang  ;  musical-instrument-maker,  tukang 
ff  ending ;  brazier,  tukang  kerning' an.  The  word  tu 
kang  signifies,  I  suppose,  a  worker  in  any  thing.  I 
will  finish  the  list  without  repeating  this  word, 
which  occurs  before  every  one  of  the  following 
names :  am,  a  distiller ;  jilid-,  a  bookbinder ;  tenuso, 
a  weaver ;  batik,  a  cotton  printer  ;  medal,  a  dyer ; 
leng'oj  an  oil-maker;  nioro-icckli,  a  diamond-cutter; 
deluwang,  a  paper-maker;  paudom,  a  tailor;  sidam, 
an  embroiderer ;  jait,  a  seamstress  ;  sung'ging,  a 
draftsman  ;  chat,  a  painter ;  pasah,  a  tooth-filer. 

The  blacksmith  ranks  highest  among  handicrafts 
men.  When  the  country  first  became  known  to  Eu 
ropeans,  the  smiths  were  prominent  men,  and  fre 
quently  owners  of  large  tracts  of  land.  They  make 
cutlery  of  every  description.  The  most  important 
article,  however,  is  the  kris,  or  dagger,  which  every 
Javan  wears  or  owns.  This  kris  has  a  straight 
blade,  is  sharp-pointed,  and  from  one  and  a  half  to 
two  feet  long.  Occasionally  the  blades  are  turned 
spirally,  as  one  you  see  in  the  following  picture,  but 
they  are  never  curved.  The  hilts  and  scabbards  are 
highly  ornamented  when  the  owners  can  afford  it, 
and  the  weapons  are  preserved  in  the  family  as  heir- 
looms. 


120  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 


JAVAN   KRISE8   A^'I)  MATCHLOCK. 


The  bellows  used  by  the  Javanese  at  this  day  are 
the  same  described  by  Dampier  as  being  used  in 
the  sixteenth  century  by  the  inhabitants  of  neigh 
boring  isles.  He  says  :  "  Their  bellows  are  made 
of  a  wooden  cylinder,  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  about 
three  feet  long,  bored  hollow  like  a  pump,  and  set 
upright  on  the  ground,  on  which  (the  ground)  the 
fire  itself  is  made.  Near  the  lower  end  there  is  a 
small  hole  in  the  side  of  the  wood  next  the  fire. 
Through  this  the  wind  is  driven  by  a  great  bunch 
of  fine  feathers  fastened  to  one  end  of  a  stick,  which 
closes  up  the  inside  of  the  cylinder,  and  drives  the 
air  out  of  the  cylinder  through  the  pipe  (or  small 


HANDICRAFTS.  121 

hole).  Two  of  these  trunks  or  cylinders  are  placed 
so  nigh  together  that  u  man  standing  between  them 
may  work  them  both  at  once,  alternately,  one  with 
each  hand." 

In  the  manufacture  of  mats  the  Javanese  display 
considerable  ingenuity  and  taste.  These  mats  are 
much  used,  and  are  made  from  a  kind  of  grass  called 
mandong,  from  the  leaves  of  various  palms,  and  from 
several  other  vegetable  substances. 

Their  method  of  working  cotton  into  cloth  is  de 
scribed  as  being  exceedingly  tedious.  It  requires 
two  days,  by  their  manner  of  working,  to  take  the 
seeds  from  a  kati  of  cotton.  A  kati  is  equal  to  one 
and  a  quarter  pound.  After  being  thoroughly  clean 
ed,  which  requires  two  days  longer,  it  goes  to  the 
spinning-wheel.  Ten  days  are  required  to  convert 
a  kati  of  cotton  into  yarn.  The  yarn  goes  through 
several  processes  before  it  is  ready  for  the  weaver, 
and  these  take  up  three  days.  In  four  days  more 
the  weaver  can  finish  a  piece  of  cloth  three  yards 
long  by  half  a  yard  wide.  This  is  a  very  tedious 
manner  of  providing  clothing ;  and  I  think  the  in 
habitants  may  be  thankful  that,  under  their  mild 
sky,  they  need  but  little.  The  operations  of  spin 
ning  and  weaving  are  performed  exclusively  by  the 
women,  and  it  is  stated  that,  from  the  sultan's  wife 
down  to  the  lowest  laborers,  the  ladies  of  the  house 
hold  are  expected  to  provide  all  the  clothing  for  the 
family. 

The  Javans  divide  time  into  weeks,  months,  and 


122  STORIES    OP    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

years.  Their  week  is  either  of  five  days  or  of  sev 
en.  The  former  regulates  the  market,  and  is  also 
the  most  generally  adopted  throughout  the  country. 
The  week  of  seven  days  is  only  used  in  reference  to 
the  seasons,  and  probably  to  keep  a  more  regular 
account  of  time  than  could  be  done  by  means  of  the 
week  of  five  days.  I  will  write  down  for  you  here 
the  Javanese  names  for  the  days  of  the  week :  Dati, 
Sunday ;  Soma,  Monday ;  Ang'gara^  Tuesday ;  Bud- 
ha,  Wednesday ;  Raspati,  Thursday ;  Sukra,  Friday ; 
Sanischarah  or  Sumpah,  Saturday. 

The  Javans  reckon  by  the  lunar  year  of  364  days. 
They  count  time  from  the  arrival  in  their  country 
of  one  whom  they  call  Aji  SaTca.  This  seems  to 
have  taken  place  seventy-four  years  after  the  com 
mencement  of  the  Christian  era,  and  makes  the 
present  year,  1856,  the  year  1782  only  with  them. 
They  have  many  of  the  Hindoo  superstitions  concern 
ing  astronomical  phenomena ;  as,  for  example,  when 
the  sun  or  moon  is  eclipsed,  they  shout,  beat  gongs, 
and  make  all  possible  noise,  to  prevent  a  great  naga, 
or  dragon,  from  devouring  those  luminaries,  which 
they  suppose  to  be  attacked  by  him. 

At  their  weddings  the  marriage  ceremony  is  per 
formed  by  the  priests.  Their  customs  on  this  occa 
sion  have  nothing  that  is  remarkable  about  them. 
As  in  many  Oriental  countries,  the  parents  make 
the  marriage  contracts,  the  children  acceding  as  a 
matter  of  course.  On  the  wedding-day,  as  the  bride 
groom  approaches  the  house  of  the  bride,  she  comes 


THE    UPAS-TRKE.  123 

out  to  meet  him.  When  they  are  within  a  certain 
distance  of  each  other,  each  throws  at  the  other's 
head  a  bundle  of  sirri  (the  spices  which  they  chew). 
They  think  that  if  the  bundle  thrown  by  the  bride 
touch  the  head  of  the  bridegroom,  she  will  always 
rule  him  ;  whereas,  if  the  reverse  takes  place,  the 
husband  will  be  master  in  his  own  house. 

Divorces  are  very  frequent ;  and  widows  are  per 
mitted  to  remarry  in  three  months  and  ten  days  aft 
er  the  death  of  their  first  husbands. 

Funeral  ceremonies  are  often  very  imposing. 
They  pray  for  the  dead.  The  corpse  is  laid  with 
its  head  to  the  south.  It  is  customary  to  strew  the 
grave  several  times  a  year  with  flowers  of  a  pecul 
iarly  fragrant  kind,  which  are  cultivated  for  no  oth 
er  purpose  than  this. 

I  will  close  the  account  of  Java  by  telling  you 
something  of  the  celebrated  upas-tree,  of  which  so 
many  terrible  stories  were  told  in  the  last  century. 
Recent  explorers  tell  us  that  there  exists  in  the  cen 
tre  of  Java  a  volcano,  which  sends  forth  constantly 
such  deadly  gases  of  sulphur  as  that  birds  and  an 
imals  which  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  stray,  too  close 
to  its  mouth  or  crater  inevitably  perish.  If  this  is 
true — and  it  is  not  unlikely — it  will  probably  ac 
count,  in  some  measure,  for  the  story  of  the  Bohon 
Upas,  from  whose  deathly  shade  it  was  said  nothing 
could  escape  with  life.  Yet  we  are  told  that  a  lit 
tle  flower  grows  and  blooms  upon  the  very  edge  of 
this  sulphurous  crater,  while  a  species  of  swallow  is 


124  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

found  nowhere  else  in  the  island  but  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  volcano. 

The  upas  is  a  tall  and  graceful  tree.  So  far  from 
being  situated  in  a  desert  spot,  Dr.  Horsfield,  who 
visited  one  in  order  to  obtain,  for  some  experiments, 
the  poisonous  sap,  states  it  to  have  been  surrounded 
on  all  sides  by  other  trees  and  shrubs.  A  large  vine 
was  even  twisted  about  the  tree  itself.  The  sap 
runs  out  freely  when  an  incision  is  made  in  the  bark. 
It  has  the  color  of  milk,  but  is  of  greater  consist 
ence.  It  acts  as  a  poison,  even  without  preparation, 
but  is  found  to  act  much  more  violently  when  mix 
ed  with  the  juice  of  tobacco,  or  prepared,  as  the  na 
tives  are  accustomed  to,  with  onions,  garlic,  and 
some  other  vegetables. 

In  the  experiments  of  Dr.  Horsfield  with  the  pre 
pared  juice,  a  cat  died  in  fifteen  minutes  after  being 
wounded,  a  mouse  in  ten  minutes,  and  an  ox  in  a 
little  over  two  hours.  In  their  wars,  in  former 
times,  the  natives  dipped  their  arrows  in  the  poison. 
The  arrows  were  propelled  through  a  blow -pipe. 
Death  was  considered  the  inevitable  consequence  of 
a  wound,  till  the  Dutch,  in  their  wars  with  the  na 
tives  of  Amboyna,  discovered  a  sure  antidote  in  a 
shrub  indigenous  to  the  Malay  Archipelago. 

The  bark  of  the  upas  is  sometimes  used  by  the  na 
tives  in  the  manufacture  of  ropes,  and  certain  of  the 
poorer  classes  even  make  it  into  a  coarse  cloth,  which 
they  wear  when  working  in  the  fields.  The  bark 
requires,  however,  much  washing  and  beating  before 


THE    UPAS.  125 

it  is  fit  for  use ;  and,  even  when  much  care  is  taken 
to  divest  it  of  its  gum,  the  wearers,  when  laboring 
in  the  sun,  find  themselves  attacked  by  a  violent  itch 
ing  in  those  parts  which  come  in  contact  with  the 
cloth,  which  is  doubtless  the  effect  of  the  small  por 
tion  of  poison  still  remaining  in  the  prepared  bark. 


EVENING  THE  FOURTH. 

SEVERAL  evenings  elapsed  between  the  conclusion 
of  the  last  story  and  the  commencement  of  the  pres 
ent  one.  Visitors  to  the  family,  and  other  events, 
prevented  the  usual  evening  gathering  of  the  chil 
dren  around  the  parlor  fire.  1  fancy  Master  George 
was  not  sorry  at  this  respite  from  his  arduous  duties 
as  story-teller.  Indeed,  he  has  hinted  to  me  that 
much  time — more,  perhaps,  than  he  cared  to  devote 
to  the  task — was  necessary  to  prepare  himself  thor 
oughly  for  the  important  office  imposed  on  him  by 
the  children.  Stories — and  particularly  true  stories, 
as  these  undoubtedly  are — can  not  be  told  without 
some  previous  preparation.  So  George,  sailor — and 
natural  story-teller,  of  course — as  he  was,  was  ne 
cessitated  to  read  and  ponder  a  good  deal  during  the 
day,  in  order  to  be  prepared  for  an  evening's  amuse 
ment. 

At  last,  however,  the  "  company"  had  gone  home, 
business  was  finished,  and,  to  Fanny's  and  Albert's 
great  joy,  their  mother  permitted  the  sofa  to  be  roll 
ed  before  the  fire,  and  the  cushioned  stools  to  be 
placed  in  front  of  it.  Once  more  Fanny  climbed 
upon  George's  knee,  this  time  promising  herself  to 
keep  awake ;  while  Albert,  who  has  an  eye  to  com 
fort,  ensconced  himself  upon  one  end  of  the  sofa,  and 


ICELAND.  127 

placed  his  head  upon  George's  other  knee.  William 
and  Josephine  being  seated  in  their  places,  George 
began: 

And  now,  having  finished  the  story  of  Java,  I 
think  we  had  better  take  a  journey  to  an  island 
which  lies  in  quite  another  extreme  of  the  world. 
AY  here  is  Iceland,  Albert  ? 

Albert.  Iceland  is  an  island  situated  north  of  Ire 
land,  northwest  of  Denmark,  to  which  it  belongs, 
and  on  the  borders  of  the  Arctic  Ocean. 

George.  That  is  very  well. 

A  IberL  It  was  part  of  my  lesson  yesterday ;  that 
is  the  reason  why  I  remembered  it. 

George.  I  will  tell  you  farther  that  Iceland  is  dis 
tant  about  130  miles  from  the  southeastern  coast  of 
Greenland,  and  is  850  miles  from  Norway.  It  is 
200  miles  across  in  its  greatest  breadth,  and  its 
length  from  east  to  west  is  about  300  miles.  Ge 
ographers  tell  us  that  it  contains  about  40,000 
square  miles,  which  makes  it  over  6000  square  miles 
larger  than  the  State  of  Indiana,  or  about  6000 
square  miles  less  than  the  great  State  of  Pennsyl 
vania. 

William.  I  did  not  think  it  was  so  large.  It  does 
not  seem  so  on  the  map. 

George.  That  is  because  we  feel  very  little  inter 
est  in  it,  and  the  map-maker  has  shown  it  to  us  only 
on  the  maps  of  Europe,  where  its  size  must  be  com 
pared  with  that  of  the  countries  there,  and  not  with 
the  representations,  on  a  larger  scale,  of  the  states 


128  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

of  our  Union.  Do  any  of  you  know  any  thing  of 
this  island? 

Albert.  It  has  numerous  boiling  springs,  and  is 
noted  for  a  large  volcano,  the  eruptions  of  which 
have  at  different  times  occasioned  the  destruction  of 
much  property. 

Fanny.  That  is  just  like  a  geography  lesson, 
George.  I  am  going  to  study  geography  too,  so 
that  I  shall  know  some  answers  to  your  questions. 

William.  I  have  read  that  the  people  are  very  pi 
ous  and  old-fashioned,  and  that  the  poorest  of  them 
can  speak  and  read  in  Latin,  while  some  poor  fish 
ermen  are  more  learned  than  many  professors  in  col- 


George.  I  believe  that  is  or  was  so.  Iceland  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  spots  on  the  surface  of 
the  globe,  both  for  the  natural  wonders  with  which 
it  abounds,  and  the  singular  habits  and  mode  of  life 
of  its  people. 

In  telling  you  its  story,  I  think  I  ought  to  begin 
with  its  discovery  by  some  Norwegian  pirates  in  the 
year  860.  It  was  in  the  time  of  Halfdan  the  Black, 
of  Norway,  that  some  pirates  of  that  country  were 
driven  by  a  great  storm  to  the  northwest  of  the  Fa 
roe  Isles,  which  they  had  just  visited.  After  many 
hardships,  they  at  length  discovered  an  unknown 
land,  and,  sailing  into  one  of  the  bays,  cast  anchor, 
in  order  to  give  themselves  some  rest,  and  to  explore 
the  country.  They  remained  but  a  few  days,  how 
ever.  Naddod  (which  was  the  pirate  captain's  name) 


EARLY    HISTORY.  129 

ascended  a  high  hill  near  the  anchorage,  in  order  to 
detect,  if  possible,  some  signs  of  life.  But  he  saw  not 
even  any  smoke,  and  concluded  that  the  isle  was  un 
inhabited.  Before  he  sailed  for  home  a  heavy  fall 
of  snow  whitened  the  mountain  tops,  and  from  this 
hi-  was  induced  to  name  the  newly-discovered  land 


A  few  years  after  his  return  home,  in  864,  a  Swede 
named  Gardar,  who  had  heard  of  the  new  land,  un 
dertook  a  voyage  thither.  He  circumnavigated  it, 
and  thus  proved  it  to  be  an  island.  He  spoke  high 
ly  of  it  on  his  return  to  Norway,  which  was  his 
adopted  country  ;  and  for  a  while  the  new  land  was 
called  after  him,  Gardarholm,  or  Gardar  Island. 
From  his  account  of  it,  we  learn  that  the  shores  were 
at  that  time  thickly  wooded. 

In  those  days  it  was  not  an  unusual  thing  for 
men,  otherwise  very  honest  and  honorable,  to  pur 
chase  ships  and  arms,  and  become  pirates.  They 
never  sought  to  rob  their  countrymen,  but  thought 
it  no  harm  to  make  war  on  the  ships  of  other  na 
tions,  or  to  attack  and  pillage  the  defenseless  vil 
lages  on  the  coasts  which  they  visited,  destroying  the 
houses,  and  carrying  the  inhabitants  off  into  slavery. 
These  people  had  not  yet  come  under  the  influence 
of  the  Christian  religion  ;  and  the  gods  they  wor 
shiped,  and  the  laws  they  obeyed,  made  no  wrong 
of  all  these  cruelties.  One  of  these  pirates,  Flohi 
by  muni',  having  heard  of  Gardar  Island,  or  Snow- 
laud,  and  having,  perhaps,  but  little  to  do  just  then, 
I 


130  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

determined  to  make  a  voyage  thither  too.  An  in 
habitant  of  the  Hebrides,  named  Faxi,  also  a  pirate, 
was  his  associate.  They  took  with  them  three  ra 
vens.  After  they  had  been  some  days  at  sea,  Faxi 
set  free  one  of  these  birds.  It  immediately  flew  back 
in  the  direction  whence  they  had  sailed ;  probably 
seeing  the  land  there,  for  birds  can  see  much  farther 
than  men. 

A  few  days  more  and  another  raven  was  loosed. 
He  flew  high  in  the  air,  and  after  making  several 
circles,  as  though  looking  carefully  about  him,  re 
turned  to  the  vessel. 

Sailing  on  for  yet  a  few  days,  Flohi  released  the 
third  raven.  It  first  darted  into  mid  air,  and  then, 
without  hesitation,  flew  off  in  a  direction  northwest 
from  them.  They  made  all  sail,  and  followed  as 
fast  as  they  could  the  course  of  the  raven,  and  aft 
er  three  days  they  saw  the  snow-covered  mountains 
of  Gardar  Island. 

They  first  sailed  into  a  great  bay,  or,  as  the  Nor 
wegians  call  it,  a  fiord,  and  this  is  to  this  day  called 
Faxi  Fiord,  in  remembrance  of  one  of  these  voy 
agers.  Sailing  into  one  of  the  smaller  fiords,  they 
found  there  such  vast  quantities  of  fish  as  to  induce 
them  to  embark  in  the  fishery.  So  engrossed  were 
they  in  this  that  they  neglected  to  secure  some  hay 
during  the  short  summer  season,  and,  in  conse 
quence,  the  cattle  which  they  had  brought  with  them 
upon  their  ships  starved  to  death  the  following  win 
ter. 


ICELANDIC    SAGA.  131 

How  Flohi  and  Fuxi,  and  their  crew,  lived  through 
the  winter,  the  story  does  not  inform  us.  The  fol 
lowing  spring  Flohi  ascended  a  high  mountain,  and 
from  thence  saw  a  bay  in  the  north  entirely  covered 
with  ice.  From  this  circumstance  he  was  induced 
to  call  the  island  Iceland,  which  name  it  has  borne 
ever  since.  We  are  informed  that  in  those  days  the 
climate  of  the  southern  part  of  Iceland  was  not  so 
severely  cold  as  it  is  now,  and  that  there  was  very 
little  difference  between  the  temperatures  of  the 
Swedish  and  Icelandic  winters. 

When  summer  returned,  Flohi  desired  to  sail  back 
to  Norway  ;  but  a  continual  head-wind  made  it  im 
possible  for  him  to  get  his  ship  out  of  the  bay.  So 
he  was  obliged  to  remain  another  winter,  and  did 
not  reach  his  home  until  the  expiration  of  two  years 
from  the  time  of  his  starting. 

During  his  absence  there  was  great  trouble  in 
Norway.  The  inhabitants  were  plundering  and 
killing  each  other,  every  man's  hand  being  against 
his  brother's  life.  About  the  time  Flohi  returned, 
peace  was  concluded,  and  two  young  men,  Ingolf 
and  Iliorleif,  who  had  been  the  cause  of  much  trouble, 
were  banished  the  country.  These  resolved  to  set 
tle  in  the  island  from  which  Flohi  had  but  just  re 
turned.  After  making  a  short  trip  thither,  for  the 
purpose  of  finding  a  favorable  location,  they  sold 
their  possessions  in  Norway,  and,  purchasing  and 
ji Kin  11  ing  two  ships,  left  that  country,  no  more  to  re 
turn. 


132  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Their  first  aim  was  to  visit  the  northern  coast  of 
Ireland,  where  they  plundered  a  village,  and  took 
ten  poor  Irishmen,  or  Westmen,  as  they  were  called, 
prisoners.  These  they  designed  to  use  as  slaves  to 
cultivate  the  soil  of  their  new  settlement.  With  the 
booty  there  procured,  their  prisoners,  and  their  for 
mer  possessions,  they  now  sailed  for  Iceland. 

Shortly  their  ships  were  separated  by  a  storm. 
Ingolf,  when  he  saw  the  land,  threw  overboard  two 
sticks,  vowing,  as  was  usual  in  those  days,  that 
wherever  these  were  washed  ashore,  there  he  would 
settle.  These  people  were  heathen,  you  must  re 
member,  and  the  sticks  which  they  threw  overboard 
had  carved  upon  them  some  figures  of  their  idols. 
The  sticks  themselves  formed  part  of  the  chair  of 
state  in  which  the  chief  sat  when  at  home  among 
his  subjects,  and  it  was  thought  that  the  idols  to 
whom  they  paid  worship  would  direct  these  little 
pieces  of  wood  ashore  at  the  place  most  favorable  to 
their  undertaking.  Shortly  after,  he  cast  anchor  in 
a  secure  bay,  and  sent  his  men  ashore  to  seek  the 
"  sedstokka"  or  "  chair-sticks,"  as  the  pieces  of  wood 
lie  had  thrown  overboard  were  called. 

Meantime  Hiorleif,  who  had  the  slaves  in  his 
ship,  had  sought  out  a  favorable  place  on  shore,  and, 
landing,  built  houses,  and  set  his  slaves  to  work  upon 
the  land,  to  raise  some  produce  for  next  year.  He 
treated  them  so  cruelly  that  one  day  they  slew  Hi 
orleif  and  all  the  men  of  his  crew,  and,  taking  the 
valuables  belonging  to  them,  got  into  a  boat  and 


HOW   THEY    USED   TO    FORM    SETTLEMENTS.     133 

sailed  to  some  small  islands  not  more  than  forty 
miles  from  the  shore,  where  they  formed  a  settle 
ment. 

Some  days  after  this,  the  crew  of  Ingolf,  seeking 
the  sedstokka,  met  with  the  bodies  of  Iliorleif  and 
his  crew.  They  returned  to  the  vessel  with  news 
of  the  deatli  of  their  companions.  Ingolf  proceeded 
to  the  place,  and,  judging  from  the  absence  of  the 
boat  that  the  Westmcn  had  gone  over  to  the  islands, 
followed  them  thither.  He  surprised  them  as  they 
were  eating  their  dinners.  They  were  all  slain ; 
and,  with  the  goods  of  Hiorleif,  Ingolf  returned  to 
the  main  island.  Shortly  thereafter  some  of  his 
men  found  the  sedstokka.  Upon  the  place  where 
they  were  discovered  Ingolf  built  some  houses,  and 
laid  the  foundation  of  what  is  now  the  capital  of 
the  island,  Reikjavik. 

Thus  was  Iceland  first  settled.  The  wars  in 
Norway  resulted  in  throwing  the  entire  country  un 
der  the  dominion  of  a  king,  Harold  by  name.  Many 
of  the  wealthiest  and  most  intelligent  people,  how 
ever,  did  not  like  to  be  subjects  of  a  king.  These, 
hearing  of  the  fortunate  issue  of  Ingolf's  enterprise, 
determined  also  to  remove  to  Iceland.  Selling  out 
their  possessions,  they  removed  their  families  to  the 
new  country,  where  each  one  could  be  his  own  mas 
ter,  and  there  was  no  king  to  rule  or  be  obeyed. 
Thus  all  the  arable  parts  of  Iceland  were,  in  course 
of  a  hundred  years,  settled  by  a  hardy  and  (for  those 
days)  intelligent  class,  who  were  determined  that 


134  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

liberty  should  reign  in  the  new  land ;  and  as  their 
home  possessed  but  few  natural  advantages,  they 
were  driven  to  push  their  enterprise  in  channels  far 
away  from  these  homes. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  the  inhab 
itants  formed  themselves  into  a  republic.  From  this 
time,  for  nearly  three  hundred  years,  they  were  high 
ly  prosperous,  and  their  little  ice-bound  island  be 
came  celebrated  as  the  repository  of  much  that  skill 
and  daring  could  accomplish  in  mercantile  enter 
prise,  or  talent  could  develop  in  literature.  Iceland- 
ish  ships  plowed  every  known  sea ;  Icelandish  poets 
and  bards  were  the  admiration  of  every  European 
court ;  Icelandish  merchants  were  known  for  their 
wealth  and  enterprise,  and  Icelandish  houses  for  the 
undisturbed  peace  and  happy  plenty  which  reigned 
there. 

The  coast  of  Greenland  was  known  to  the  Ice 
landers  from  a  very  early  period.  They  have  writ 
ten  accounts  which  go  far  to  prove  that  the  coast 
of  America  was  visited  by  them  in  the  ninth  and 
tenth  centuries — that  is,  several  hundred  years  be 
fore  Columbus  made  his  discoveries.  They  do  not, 
however,  appear  to  have  made  any  use  of  the  dis 
coveries  then  made,  nor  to  have  followed  them  up 
perseveringly ;  consequently,  they  have  not  benefit 
ed  by  them  even  in  name. 

I  told  you  that  the  early  settlers  were  heathen. 
In  the  year  981  the  first  Christian  missionary  land 
ed  upon  the  island.  He  was  followed  by  others. 


SNORRE   STURLESON.  135 

Such  was  the  success  attending  their  labors  that,  in 
the  year  1000,  by  a  general  vote  of  the  representa 
tives  of  the  people,  lu-athmism  was  abolished,  and 
Christianity  established  as  the  religion  of  the  state. 
The  Icelandic  colonies  in  Greenland  were  also  Chris 
tianized,  and  for  a  long  time  were  in  a  highly  pros 
perous  condition. 

AVith  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  literature 
received  a  start,  and  soon  all  Europe  resounded  with 
the  fame  of  Icelandic  students.  Numerous  schools 
were  founded  on  the  island,  and  great  numbers  of 
young  men  attended  the  different  colleges  of  Europe 
for  the  purpose  of  completing  their  education,  and 
earning  distinction  in  the  various  departments  of 
literature. 

After  three  hundred  years  of  almost  uninterrupt 
ed  prosperity,  the  state  fell  into  anarchy.  Snorre 
Sturleson,  a  distinguished  Icelander,  quieted  the  quar 
rels  of  factions,  and  himself  assumed  the  reins  of 
government.  He  was  murdered  in  1241 ;  and,  in 
ternal  commotions  still  prevailing,  the  Icelanders  in 
12G1  declared  themselves  subjects  of  the  then  reign 
ing  King  of  Norway,  Ilakon  V. 

In  1350  the  island  was  ravaged  by  a  plague,  by 
which  half  the  population  perished.  In  1387,  Nor 
way,  with  its  dependencies,  came  into  the  possession 
of  Denmark.  Under  this  rule  Iceland  has  ever  since 
remained. 

The  doctrines  of  the  Reformation  were  introduced 
in  1545. 


136  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

From  the  time  of  their  submission  to  the  rule  of 
Norway,  the  Icelanders  ceased  to  prosper.  In  the 
years  1627  and  1687,  the  Algerine  pirates,  who  at 
that  time  were  the  terror  of  every  sea,  made  incur 
sions  on  the  peaceful  shores  of  Iceland,  and  caused 
much  misery.  They  slew  numbers  of  the  inhabit 
ants,  and  bore  away  many  others  into  a  hopeless 
slavery,  besides  plundering  all  the  country  adjacent 
to  the  seashore.  In  1707  the  small-pox  broke  out, 
and  17,000  of  the  inhabitants  died  in  one  year.  In 
1784  and  1785,  9000  persons  died  of  hunger,  in  con 
sequence  of  a  bad  season,  and  neglect  on  the  part  of 
the  Danish  government.  In  the  years  1698  and 
1724,  great  damage  was  done  to  property  by  volcan 
ic  eruptions  ;  and  in  1821  and  1823,  two  other  very 
destructive  eruptions  took  place.  During  the  last 
and  most  violent  outbreak  of  Mount  Hecla  in  1846, 
the  ashes  were  blown  as  far  as  the  Orkney  Isles. 
In  1824  and  1825,  a  famine  produced  much  suffer 
ing,  and  in  1827  an  epidemic  reduced  the  number 
of  inhabitants  to  40,000.  Since  then  there  has 
been  a  gradual  increase,  till,  in  1852,  the  popula 
tion  was  given  at  60,000. 

Having  given  you  a  rather  lengthy  account  of  the 
history  of  Iceland,  I  will  now  tell  you  something  of 
the  island  itself,  and  of  the  present  condition  of  the 
people.  Iceland  is,  I  suppose,  one  of  the  most  un 
promising  spots  ever  chosen  by  civilized  men  for  a 
home.  Its  entire  surface  is  volcanic,  and  learned 
men  have  supposed  that  a  subterranean  fire  rages 


I\    ICELAND  137 

beneath  the  surface  in  almost  every  part.  The*  cli 
mate  is  exceedingly  severe.  In  winter  the  cold  and 
storms  make  out-door  work  impossible.  The  short 
summer  is  not  sufficient  to  ripen  any  kind  of  grain. 
Thus  the  operations  of  farming  can  not  be  success 
ful,  and  the  inhabitants  depend  for  their  supplies  of 
grain  and  vegetables  upon  Continental  Europe.  With 
al,  there  is  very  little  arable  land  in  the  whole  isl 
and.  The  interior  is  an  uninhabitable  waste,  con 
sisting  of  lofty  mountain  masses,  the  tops  of  many 
of  which  are  perpetually  covered  with  snow,  and 
deep  ravines,  or  rather  chasms,  and  fissures  in  the 
rock  ;  the  more  level  parts  being  covered  with  rocks 
and  lava,  and  made  untillable  by  the  abundance  of 
boiling  springs,  small  mud  volcanoes,  and  other  vol 
canic  phenomena.  Thus  only  a  small  part  of  the 
southern  sea-coast  is  habitable,  and  here  the  Ice 
landers  dwell  in  sober  contentment,  following  the 
humble  occupations  of  which  the  rigor  of  the  climate 
admits. 

The  early  historians  of  Iceland  make  frequent 
mention  of  trees,  and  of  a  more  abundant  and  flour 
ishing  vegetation  than  the  island  is  blessed  with  at 
the  present  day.  This  induced  learned  men  to  think 
that  the  climate  of  this  country  was  formerly  much 
milder  than  it  is  at  present.  We,  who  live  in  a  land 
many  parts  of  which  are  yet  thickly  wooded,  and 
who  sec  large  trees  almost  every  day  of  our  lives, 
can  scarcely  imagine  how  a  country  must  look  which 
has  no  trees  at  all.  We  find  it  difficult  to  believe 


138  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND   WORLD. 

that  there  is  such  a  land.  Yet  it  is  true.  The 
largest  shrub  on  all  Iceland,  according  to  a  late 
traveler,*  is  but  five  feet  high.  How  an  Icelander 
would  stare  could  he  be  placed  suddenly  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  the  forests  to  be  found  in  Indiana ! 
How  he  would  admire  the  tall,  stout  cottonwoods, 
and  beeches,  and  oaks,  and  maples!  Grain  does 
not  ripen  on  any  part  of  the  island,  neither  do  any 
vegetables  perfect  their  seed.  Therefore,  while  po 
tatoes,  turnips,  carrots,  and  other  garden  vegetables 
can  be  raised  for  the  table,  the  seed  required  for  the 
next  year's  planting  must  be  brought  from  Europe. 
Grass,  and  a  kind  of  sweet-smelling  heath,  grow 
sparsely  on  such  parts  of  the  land  as  are  riot  swampy 
or  covered  with  rocks  and  lava.  The  chief — per 
haps  only — species  of  woods  are  the  beech  and  birch. 
But  to  an  American,  beeches  and  birches  which 
grow  only  to  a  height  of  three  to  five  feet  seem 
scarce  worthy  the  name  of  trees. 

As  in  such  an  inclement  climate  fires  are  needed 
during  the  greater  part  of  the  year,  it  is  a  fortunate 
thing  that  peat,  a  kind  of  ignitible  earth,  is  obtain 
able  in  considerable  quantities  from  the  morasses 
and  bogs  which  abound  in  all  parts  of  the  island. 
Notwithstanding  this,  however,  it  has  been  found 
necessary  to  import  wood  from  Denmark.  In  one 

*  Pliny  Miles,  whose  very  interesting  volume  of  "Ram 
bles  through  Iceland"  is  the  best  and  latest  account  we  have 
in  the  English  language  concerning  that  island  and  its  peo- 
pie. 


THE   GEYSERS.  139 

part  of  the  island  the  natives  burn  birds.  These 
they  catcli  at  the  risk  of  their  lives  by  descending 
steep  cliffs,  where  a  slip  of  the  foot  would  be  certain 
death  to  the  adventurous  bird-catcher.  The  birds 
to  be  used  as  fuel  are  split  open  and  dried.  Being 
burned  with  the  feathers  on,  I  suppose  there  is  not 
a  very  nice  smell  in  the  cabins  where  this  kind  of 
fire-wood  is  used. 

Iceland  is  noted  for  the  great  number  of  its  volca 
noes  and  hot  springs.  There  are  thirty  known  vol 
canoes,  and  eight  of  these  have  been  active  within 
the  last  hundred  years.  It  is  singular  that  in  the 
southeastern  part  of  the  island,  where  the  ice  has  long 
been  accumulated  in  the  greatest  quantities,  the  erup 
tions  have  been  most  violent  and  destructive.  The 
last  eruption  was  in  184G,  and  Ilecla  on  that  occa 
sion  did  much  damage. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  volcanoes,  the  entire  sur 
face  is  covered  with  hot  springs,  mud  springs,  and 
small  craters  and  crevices,  from  which  issue  smoke 
and  steam.  The  most  remarkable  of  the  boiling 
springs  are  the  Geysers.  These  throw  out  at  inter 
vals  large  streams  of  water,  or  mixed  mud  and  wa 
ter.  Sometimes  large  stones  are  hurled  high  in  air 
with  the  water,  such  is  the  force  of  the  fountain. 

I  will  give  you  some  account  of  the  principal  one 
of  these  intermitting  fountains.  The  Great  Geyser, 
as  this  is  called,  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  about 
one  hundred  other  hot  and  mud  springs,  of  all  sizes 
and  shapes.  The  Great  Geyser  itself  may  l>e  said 


140  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

to  consist  of  a  bowl,  which  is  kept  constantly  full 
of  water,  nearly  at  boiling  heat,  by  means  of  a  hole 
leadino-  from  the  centre  of  its  bottom  far  into  the 

O 

ground.  The  bowl  is  saucer-shaped,  nearly  sixty 
feet  across,  and  about  four  feet  deep.  The  hole  by 
means  of  which  water  is  supplied  is  from  ten  to 
fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  said  to  run  nearly 
seventy  feet  straight  down. 

The  Geysers  are  not  always  in  full  operation. 
Some  play  at  regular  intervals  of  several  hours.  The 
Great  Geyser  has,  however,  no  regularly  recurring 
periods  of  display.  Its  eruptions  occur  sometimes 
several  times  in  a  day,  and  at  others  but  once  in 
two  or  three  days.  They  are  preceded  by  an  unusu 
al  agitation  of  the  water  in  the  bowl,  and  a  succes 
sion  of  subterranean  explosions,  which  can  be  heard 
at  some  distance.  When  these  have  continued  sev 
eral  minutes,  the  water  is  projected  into  the  air  in  a 
massive  column  the  entire  thickness  of  the  pipe 
whence  it  issues,  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  in  diam 
eter.  The  average  height  to  which  the  top  of  this 
column  reaches  has  been  ascertained  to  be  ninety  feet. 
Just  think  of  a  body  of  water  ninety  feet  high,  and 
forty-eight  to  fifty  feet  in  circumference.  It  must 
be  a  grand  sight.  It  continues  playing  for  six  or 
eight  minutes,  and  a  loud  roaring  noise  accompanies 
the  exhibition.  I  suppose  an  eruption  of  the  Great 
Geyser  must  be  somewhat  like  a  water-spout  at  sea. 

In  the  numerous  boiling  springs  food  can  be,  and 
sometimes  is,  cooked.  Meat,  potatoes,  eggs,  or  any 


ANIMALS    AND    BIRDS    OF   ICELAND.  141 

thing  else  which  can  be  fitly  prepared  by  boiling, 
will,  if  placed  in  the  boiling  water  of  a  spring  for 
a  few  minutes,  be  perfectly  cooked.  Some  of  the 
springs,  however,  are  sulphurous,  and  such  would 
give  an  unpleasant  taste  to  food  boiled  in  their  wa 
ters, 

In  many  places  in  the  vicinity  of  the  springs  the 
ground  is  so  soft  that  persons  walking  over  it  are  in 
danger  of  breaking  through.  Of  course,  when  they 
do,  which  sometimes  happens,  they  are  scalded  by 
the  steam  which  pours  out  wherever  a  hole  is  made. 

Of  animals  Iceland  has  but  few  species,  and  none 
peculiar  to  itself.  Reindeer  are  found  wild  in  the 
unsettled  parts  of  the  island.  They  are  not  tamed 
here  as  with  the  Laplanders.  White  and  blue  foxes 
are  frequently  met  with,  and  often  commit  ravages 
upon  the  flocks  of  sheep.  "White  bears  are  occa 
sionally  drifted  to  the  Iceland  shores  on  cakes  of 
ice.  Their  proper  home,  however,  is  not  here,  but 
in  Greenland. 

Of  birds  there  are  many  varieties,  mostly,  how 
ever,  sea-fowl  or  birds  of  prey.  Horses,  cattle, 
sheep,  and  dogs  are  the  animals  domesticated  by  the 
Icelanders.  Of  sheep  they  have  great  numbers. 
All  these  animals  are  smaller  than  with  us :  the 
horses,  particularly,  are  of  small  stature,  averaging 
only  from  twelve  to  thirteen  hands  high.  In  win 
ter,  the  horses,  except  those  that  are  continually 
used,  are  made  to  hunt  their  own  food,  the  utmost 
that  their  musters  do  to  help  them  being  to  scratch 


142  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

away  with  a  hoe  a  little  of  the  thick  crust  of  snow 
which  covers  the  ground.  The  horses  then  paw 
away  the  rest,  and  crop  from  the  ground  a  meagre 
supply  of  grass  or  heather.  They  become  very  lank 
and  bony  during  the  winter  season,  but  regain  their 
flesh  very  quickly  when  the  meadows  are  again  open 
to  them. 

It  has  been  observed  that  here,  as  in  all  Arctic  re 
gions,  all  animals  are  provided  by  nature  with  an 
addition  to  their  usual  supply  of  covering.  Thus 
the  domesticated  animals  of  the  Icelanders  assume, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  long  winter,  a  rough,  shaggy 
appearance,  produced  by  an  additional  coat  of  long 
hair  which  grows  upon  them  at  that  time,  and  serves 
to  protect  them  from  the  severe  cold.  Upon  the  re 
turn  of  warm  weather  the  extra  coat  falls  off,  and 
during  summer  an  Iceland  cow  or  pony  looks  near 
ly  as  smooth  as  one  raised  in  America.  They  do 
not  shear  their  sheep,  but  pull  the  wool  off,  a 
practice  which  seems  to  me  somewhat  needlessly 
cruel. 

The  Icelanders  of  the  present  day  are  said  to  look 
much  like  other  white  people,  and  probably  bear  a 
greater  resemblance  to  the  Norwegians  than  to  any 
other  European  nation.  They  are  of  medium  height 
— rather  under  than  over — light  complexion,  and 
generally  fair  hair.  They  are  a  quiet,  industrious, 
and,  as  a  general  thing,  sober  people.  As  even  the 
richest  of  them  are  not  wealthy,  and  the  poorest 
classes  have  to  struggle  hard  to  earn  a  livelihood,  it 


HOW    THEY    FARM    IN    ICELAND.  143 

is  to  be  expected  that  they  should  be  of  frugal  hab 
its.  Their  principal  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood 
are  fishing,  stock-raising,  and  bird-catching. 

As  the  interior  is  but  thinly  settled,  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  inhabitants  attend  the  fisheries  for 
part  of  the  year.  The  fish  caught  are  cod.  These 
are  salted  and  dried  for  winter  use  and  exportation. 
June  is  the  fishing  month.  The  two  succeeding 
months  are  devoted  to  the  most  important  Icelandic 
agricultural  operation — making  hay  for  the  sheep 
and  cattle,  who  require  to  be  fed  during  winter. 

Farming  operations  are  carried  on  to  but  a  limit 
ed  extent  in  Iceland.  So  broken  is  the  ground  that 
they  do  not  make  use  of  a  plow.  The  spade  suf 
fices  to  prepare  the  small  patches  on  which  a  few 
potatoes  and  other  vegetables  are  raised  for  the  fam 
ily.  A  scythe,  a  rake,  a  pitchfork,  and  a  hay  rope 
complete  the  list  of  farm  tools  in  use.  Wagons  or 
carriages  are  not  used.  Hay,  and  produce  of  all 
kinds,  and  even  lumber,  is  transported  on  the  backs 
of  horses. 

The  dwellings  of  the  better  classes  are  construct 
ed  of  wood.  They  are  generally  of  one  story,  con 
taining  several  rooms,  and  are  colored  black  on  the 
outside  by  a  composition  of  tar  and  clay.  This 
gives  a  town  a  singular  and  rather  sombre  appear 
ance.  Within,  these  houses  are  comfortably  fur 
nished  in  the  European  style.  Most  of  the  superior 
articles  of  furniture  are  imported  from  Denmark. 
The  huts  of  the  poor  people  are  built  of  lava  blocks 


144  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

and  earth,  and  consist  of  two  apartments,  one  the 
dwelling-room,  the  other  used  as  a  store-room,  and 
in  winter  for  a  stable.  The  accommodations  are, 
of  course,  few  and  poor;  yet  all  travelers  make 
mention  of  books  as  forming  part  of  the  furniture 
of  almost  every  house.  On  the  exterior  these  houses 
are  covered  with  sod,  which,  growing,  gives  them 
more  the  appearance  of  hillocks  than  houses,  espe 
cially  as  neither  the  doors  nor  the  windows  are  very 
conspicuous. 

There  is  one  college  on  the  island,  but  no  schools. 
In  former  times,  when  the  inhabitants  were  more 
prosperous,  schools  abounded  in  every  district.  Now, 
however,  every  family  forms  a  school  in  itself.  Dur 
ing  the  short  summer,  all  that  are  able  work  with  all 
their  might  in  order  to  secure  a  store  of  supplies  for 
winter.  During  the  long,  tedious  winter  months, 
when  the  sun  is  never  more  than  three  or  four  hours 
above  the  horizon,  and  the  bitter  cold  makes  out 
door  work,  or  even  visiting,  impossible,  the  family 
gathers  around  the  seal-oil  lamp,  and,  while  some 
are  knitting,  weaving,  or  working  at  their  various 
in-door  pursuits,  one  reads  aloud  to  them,  and,  if 
needful,  teaches  the  little  children  their  A  B  C's. 
Thus  it  comes  about  that,  without  having  a  single 
regularly  organized  school,  the  inhabitants  are  all 
possessed  of  a  common  education,  while  such  as  have 
taste  or  inclination  are  often  found  to  have  made 
great  advances  on  the  road  to  learning  without  oth 
er  assistance  than  is  to  be  gleaned  from  books  and 


ICELANDIC    HOSPITALITY.  145 

occasional  aid  from  the  minister  of  the  neighboring 
church. 

The  students  of  the  Icelandic  college  are  nearly 
all  trained  for  the  ministry,  and  in  due  season  take 
charge  of  the  little  churches  which  are  scattered, 
nearly  at  hap-hazard,  over  the  settled  portion  of  the 
country.  These  preachers  are  spoken  of  by  travel 
ers  as  unfailingly  hospitable  and  polite,  extending  a 
cordial  welcome  to  strangers,  and  eagerly  improving 
every  opportunity  to  increase  their  store  of  informa 
tion  concerning  foreign  lands.  In  so  poor  a  land  as 
Iceland,  little  can  be  expected  of  the  hospitality  of 
the  inhabitants.  They  have  the  will,  but  are  so  poor 
ly  provided  themselves  as  to  make  the  entertaining 
of  strangers  an  impossibility  to  them.  Travelers 
tell  us,  therefore,  that  in  their  journeys  they  are  gen 
erally  lodged  in  the  churches,  which  are  freely  thrown 
open  to  them  for  that  purpose.  On  starting  from 
the  capital  to  visit  the  interior  or  sea-coast,  it  is  nec 
essary  to  take  along  a  supply  of  provisions  sufficient 
to  last  the  entire  trip. 

The  ministers  and  physicians  form,  with  the  offi 
cers  of  the  government,  the  leading  society  of  the 
island.  They  are  all  paid  by  the  Danish  govern 
ment.  The  physicians  lead  a  hard  life.  The  dis 
trict  assigned  to  each  extends  often  over  from  fifty 
to  sixty  miles ;  and  when  their  sen-ices  are  needed 
in  winter,  the  inhabitants  come  for  them  provided 
with  shovels  and  pickaxes,  prepared  to  clear  the  way 
through  thick  snow-drifts  and  ice-banks.  It  is  for- 
K 


146  STORIES    OP    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

tunate  that  the  salubrity  of  the  climate  and  the  pov 
erty  of  the  inhabitants  make  sickness  comparative 
ly  rare. 

The  minister  of  a  parish  has  a  dwelling  furnished 
him,  with  a  small  piece  of  meadow-land  attached, 
sufficient  to  support  a  cow  and  horse.  Besides  this, 
he  has  only  his  salary  from  the  government,  which 
is  exceedingly  small,  ranging  from  three  dollars  to 
ten  dollars  per  annum.  A  few  receive  higher  sal 
aries,  but  the  highest  amount  paid  is  only  ninety 
dollars  per  year.  They  generally  dress  but  little 
better  than  their  parishioners,  and  work  in  the  fields 
in  summer,  or  fish,  to  eke  out  their  subsistence,  the 
minister's  lady  meanwhile  tending  the  cattle,  and 
providing  clothing  for  the  little  household.  Yet 
these  men  are  often  found  to  speak  several  foreign 
languages  fluently,  and  are,  as  a  class,  highly  intelli 
gent.  Think,  children,  with  what  difficulties  they 
have  to  contend,  and  how,  laboring  hard  for  a  pit 
tance  which  is  certainly  ridiculously  small,  they  yet 
find  time  to  cultivate  their  minds,  and  take  delight 
in  that  which  most  tends  to  the  improvement  of 
their  immortal  parts.  Think  of  this,  and  be  thank 
ful  for  the  advantages  you  enjoy  of  good  schools,  as 
well  as  careful  to  make  proper  use  of  them. 

The  principal  employment  of  the  Icelandic  wom 
en  during  the  long  and  dreary  winter  season  is  to 
knit  stockings  and  mittens  from  yarn  which  they 
spin  of  the  wool  obtained  from  their  sheep.  About 
two  hundred  thousand  pairs  of  stockings  and  three 


BIRDS' -NESTING.  147 

hundred  thousand  pairs  of  mittens  are  exported 
yearly. 

Besides  this,  they  send  out  of  the  country  dried 
codfish  and  smoked  salmon,  with  seal  and  whale  oil, 
and  seal-skins,  the  produce  of  their  fisheries ;  hides, 
tallow,  and  butter,  from  their  farms ;  sulphur,  one 
of  the  natural  products  of  the  volcanic  regions;  and 
feathers  and  eider-down,  for  which  they  venture 
down  steep  cliffs,  and  climb  to  almost  inaccessible 
rocks. 

Swinging  by  a  slender  line,  they  are  lowered  down 
the  perpendicular  face  of  a  rock  to  a  depth  of  per 
haps  two  hundred  or  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet. 
There,  with  the  sea  dashing  wildly  upon  the  beach 
far,  far  below  them,  they  must  fight  the  sea-birds 
for  their  eggs  and  the  feathers  with  which  they  line 
their  nests.  A  sharp  projection  in  the  rock  may  at 
any  moment  sever  the  line,  and  plunge  them  into 
the  abyss  below. 

When  the  fishing  season  is  at  hand,  the  males  of 
a  family  make  it  a  point  to  go  in  different  boats,  in 
order  that  if  one  should  be  lost,  others  may  be  left 
for  the  family  support.  Thus,  by  severe  and  dan 
gerous  labor,  these  poor  islanders  eke  out  a  scanty 
livelihood  for  themselves  and  their  families.  What 
a  lesson  of  contentment  they  teach  us,  who  are  so 
highly  favored  in  all  that  relates  to  the  comfort  and 
safety  of  life !  Living  in  a  country  which  is  almost 
a  desert,  with  a  most  unfavorable  climate,  and  so 
few  facilities  for  earning  their  daily  bread  that  they 


148  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

are  compelled  to  gain  it  at  the  risk  of  their  lives, 
these  poor  people  are  yet  contented.  In  their  sim 
ple  and  often  uncomfortable  homes,  there  reigns 
greater  happiness  than  in  many  houses  abounding  in 
gold,  silver,  and  precious  raiment. 

Having  labored  through  the  week,  on  Sabbath  the 
whole  Icelandic  family  rides  to  church.  All  ride, 
men,  women,  and  children.  The  roads  are  so  rough 
that  walking  is  almost  impossible,  and  horses  are  so 
cheap  that  no  one  needs  to  practice  walking.  The 
small  ponies,  indigenous  to  the  island,  are  sold  at 
from  ten  to  twelve  dollars.  For  the  last-named 
price  a  fine,  active  horse  may  be  purchased.  The 
church  is  the  place  for  a  weekly  social  reunion  ;  for, 
owing  to  badness  of  roads,  scantiness  of  population, 
and  other  causes,  there  is  but  little  visiting  done  ex 
cept  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  larger  towns. 
After  the  sermon  is  over,  therefore,  the  good  peo 
ple  gather  together  in  little  knots,  and  discuss  the 
latest  piece  of  news — for,  I  suppose,  even  in  Iceland 
they  have  news — and  talk  over  the  past  and  the  fu 
ture. 

But  I  must  tell  you  of  one  custom  of  the  Iceland 
ers,  at  which  you  will  probably  smile.  When  they 
meet,  or  are  about  to  take  leave  of  each  other,  in 
stead  of  shaking  hands,  as  do  we,  they  kiss  each 
other. 

Fanny.  Do  the  gentlemen  kiss  each  other  too  ? 

George.  Yes ;  it  is  the  universal  custom,  and  the 
gentlemen  kiss  the  ladies  just  as  well  as  each  other. 


THE    ALTHTNc;.  149 

Fanny.  They  should  not  tell  me  good-by  in  that 
way.  I  would  run  away. 

William.  You  spoke  a  while  ago  of  them  as  all 
being  industrious  and  good.  Are  there  no  bad  peo 
ple  on  the  island? 

George.  I  suppose  there  are  some  not  so  good  as 
others,  but  there  is  scarcely  any  crime  upon  the  isl 
and.  They  had  once  a  prison,  but  it  was  found  to 
be  useless ;  and  so  they  rebuilt  it  inside,  and  made 
it  the  residence  of  the  governor ;  and  so  little  danger 
is  there  of  robbery,  that  all  the  money  which  belongs 
to  the  government  is  kept  in  an  iron  chest  in  the 
governor's  house.  This  chest  has  two  locks.  The 
key  to  one  is  in  the  governor's  possession,  and  the 
treasurer  has  the  other,  so  that  both  must  be  there 
if  they  desire  to  open  the  box. 

This  governor  is  appointed  by  the  King  of  Den 
mark.  In  former  times  there  was  no  governor. 
The  people  used  to  meet  every  year  on  the  shores 
of  the  Lake  of  Thingvalla.  There  the  wisest  men 
among  them  were  united  in  a  body  called  the  Al 
thing,  which  enacted  such  laws  as  were  needed,  and 
chose  some  person  to  see  them  carried  into  effect. 
The  yearly  meeting  at  the  Lake  of  Thingvalla  was 
always  thought  to  be  a  great  occasion.  People 
would  come  from  all  portions  of  the  island  to  at 
tend.  They  brought  tents  along,  and  would  remain 
perhaps  a  week  or  two,  spending  part  of  the  time  in 
fishing  in  the  lake,  and  going  about  to  see  their 
friends.  Thus  there  was  much  rejoicing  among  all 


150  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

who  came.  But  now  the  representatives  of  the  peo 
ple  meet  at  Reikiavik,  which  the  Icelanders  consid 
er  much  less  pleasant. 

I  believe  I  have  now  told  you  all  I  have  been 
able  to  find  concerning  Iceland.  To-morrow  I  will 
speak  of  another  island,  but  one  in  quite  a  different 
part  of  the  world. 


EVENING  THE  FIFTH. 

George.  WE  heard  last  evening  some  account  of 
one  of  the  most  bleak  and  unproductive  spots  ever 
subdued  and  inhabited  by  man.  I  think  it  will  be 
a  pleasant  contrast  to  take  for  the  subject  of  our  en 
tertainment  this  evening  the  beautiful  and  fertile 
island  of  Ceylon. 

Albert.  Oh,  yes;  Ceylon  is  where  the  cinnamon 
grows. 

Fanny.  Is  it  ?  Then  I  would  like  very  much  to 
hear  about  Ceylon. 

George.  For  what  other  product  was  Ceylon  noted 
some  years  ago,  William  ? 

William.  For  the  pearls  found  in  the  shallow 
banks  on  the  coasts  of  the  island. 

George.  Right;  and  it  is  now  widely  known 
throughout  the  East  Indies  as  producing  fine  cocoa- 
nut  oil  and  good  coir  rope,  of  neither  of  which  ar 
ticles  we  of  America  or  Europe  make  much  use.  Its 
mines  of  plumbago  are  also  considered  very  valua 
ble,  and  I  have  seen  statements  that  they  produce  a 
purer  metal  and  in  greater  quantities  than  any  oth 
er  in  the  world.  Albert,  do  you  know  what  plum 
bago  is? 

Albert.  No,  sir. 

George.  Can  you  tell,  Josephine  I 


152  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Josephine.  It  is  the  metal  of  which  the  lead  for 
pencils  is  made,  and  is  called  by  us  black-lead. 

George.  That  is  right ;  but  plumbago  is  used  for 
many  other  purposes.  Albert,  in  what  waters  is 
Ceylon  situated? 

Albert.  In  the  Indian  Ocean. 

Josephine.  I  have  the  Atlas  here,  and  find  Ceylon 
to  be  included  between  5°  56'  and  9°  50'  south  lat 
itude,  and  between  longitude  80°  and  82°  east. 

George.  That  is  right.  Can  you  tell  me,  little 
Fanny,  what  fruit  it  is  shaped  like  ? 

Fanny.  It  looks  to  me  more  like  a  pear  than  any 
thing  else. 

Albert.  Yes;  and  the  larger  end  of  the  pear  lies 
toward  the  south. 

George.  Right  again.  Ceylon  is  about  270  miles 
in  length  from  north  to  south,  and  about  660  miles 
in  circumference.  It  contains  24,664  square  miles, 
which  is  about  1600  square  miles  more  than  are 
contained  in  the  four  states,  New  Hampshire,  Mas 
sachusetts,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode  Island.  It  is 
over  4000  square  miles  smaller  than  South  Caroli 
na.  Which  are  the  principal  harbors,  Albert  ? 

Albert.  Trincomalee,  on  the  northeast  coast,  and 
Point  de  Galle,  on  the  south.  In  which  of  these 
were  you,  George  ? 

George.  I  was  once  at  Point  de  Galle,  in  a  little 
brigantine  that  carried  the  mail  between  that  port 
and  Port  Louis,  in  the  Isle  of  France. 

Fanny.  I  did  not  know  that  people  could  send  let- 


CINGALESE   TRADITION.  153 

ters  so  far  oft'.      You  might  have  sent  me  a  letter 
whi-n  you  were  there. 

George.  That  is  true — only  I  did  not  know  you 
then,  Miss  Fanny.  Then,  too,  it  seemed  to  me  so 
far  that  I  was  not  sure  whether,  had  I  written,  my 
letter  would  ever  have  reached  home. 

Ceylon  has  been  very  long  known  to  the  civilized 
world.  It  was  known  to  the  Greeks  in  the  time  of 
Alexander  the  Great.  Pliny,  an  ancient  Roman 
writer  on  geography  and  history,  tells  us  that  Onese- 
critus,  a  captain  of  Alexander  the  Great,  first  cir 
cumnavigated  Ceylon,  and  thus  discovered  it  to  be 
an  island.  Before  that,  Taprolane,  as  they  called  it, 
was  supposed  to  be  a  vast  continent,  stretching  no 
one  knew  how  far  to  the  south.  The  Ceylonese 
have  a  legend  that  at  a  very  remote  period  their  isl 
and  was  much  larger  than  it  is  now ;  and  a  Roman 
navigator,  who  visited  the  island  some  centuries  be 
fore  the  birth  of  our  Savior,  states  that  the  constel 
lation  of  the  Great  Bear  was  not  visible  on  that 
portion  of  the  island  seen  by  him,  which  leads  geog 
raphers  to  the  belief  that  its  southern  extreme  must 
at  that  time  have  been  much  farther  south  than  at 
present.  The  name  Ceylon,  or  Zeylan,  is  said  to 
be  derived  from  the  Hindostanee  word  Sinhal,  sig-f 
nirying  the  lions.  There  are,  however,  at  present,  no 
lions  found  upon  the  island. 

Don  Lorenzo  Almeyda,  a  Portuguese  navigator, 
was  the  first  in  modern  times  to  establish  a  regular 
intercourse  with  this  island.  In  the  year  1.505,  at 


154  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

the  request  of  the  King  of  Kandy,  as  Ceylon  was 
called  then,  he  aided  the  king  against  the  assaults 
of  the  Arabian  pirates,  who  were  injuring  the  coun 
try.  The  Portuguese  received  a  regular  tribute  of 
cinnamon  as  reward  for  this  aid,  and  maintained 
for  the  space  of  153  years  a  control  over  the  island. 
During  this  time,  however,  they  had  frequent  strug 
gles  with  the  natives,  who  desired  independence,  and 
with  the  Dutch,  who  coveted  the  rich  trade  of  the 
island.  In  1658  the  Portuguese  were  expelled  by 
the  Dutch,  and  these  retained  possession  until  1795 
and  1796,  when  the  British  took  possession  of  the 
coasts  of  Ceylon. 

None  of  these  powers  had  at  any  time  been  able 
to  subdue  the  great  kingdom  of  Kandia,  which  oc 
cupied  the  entire  interior  of  the  island.  They  were 
masters  only  of  the  coast,  and  of  a  narrow  strip  of 
soil,  in  some  places  not  reaching  more  than  three  or 
four  miles  from  the  water  side.  They  kept  embas- 
sadors  at  the  Kandian  court,  and  were  in  all  things 
obliged  to  treat  the  monarch  and  people  of  Kandy 
with  great  respect  and  forbearance,  for  the  sake  of 
the  important  trade  which  they  were  permitted  to 
carry  on  with  the  interior. 

In  1815,  however,  only  forty-two  years  ago,  the 
Kandians  called  upon  the  British  for  relief  from  the 
tyrant  who  was  then  occupying  the  throne.  They 
accordingly  deposed  this  prince,  and  then  placed  the 
entire  island  under  their  own  laws.  Since  that  time 
the  Cingalese  have  been  under  British  government. 


OP  THE  PEOPLE  OP  CEYLON.        155 

Ceylon  has  some  tolerably  high  mountain  peaks 
in  its  southern  portion.  Among  them  is  one  called 
Adam's  Peak,  of  which  I  shall  tell  you  more  after  a 
while.  The  island  has  no  rivers  of  any  account  for 
navigation,  although  there  are  numerous  mountain 
streamlets,  which  water  and  fertilize  the  country. 
The  climate  in  the  interior  is  said  to  be  unhealthy, 
the  jungle  fever,  which  is  very  fatal  to  Europeans, 
prevailing  to  some  extent.  On  the  coast  it  is  very 
pleasant,  the  temperature  being  much  more  even, 
and  the  heats  less  intense,  than  on  the  main  land  of 
India.  In  many  points  it  is  not  nearly  so  oppressive 
as  writh  us  at  midsummer. 

The  inhabitants  of  Ceylon  are  of  several  nations. 
Most  numerous  are  the  Cingalese,  Kandians,  and 
Malabars.  Since  the  annexation  of  Kandy  to  the 
British  dominions,  the  Kandians  and  Cingalese  have 
united  to  some  extent.  Both  these  nations  were  na 
tive  to  Ceylon.  The  Malabars,  who  live  principal 
ly  upon  the  northern  coasts,  are  the  descendants  of 
natives  of  neighboring  Hindostan.  On  the  eastern 
side  of  the  island  is  found  a  people  called  the  Vedahs, 
who  are  quite  wild,  and  live  by  the  chase,  and  such 
fruits  as  grow  without  cultivation  in  the  forest. 
These  are  supposed  to  be  descendants  of  the  aborig 
inal  inhabitants  of  the  island. 

The  Cingalese  are  an  indolent  but  kind-hearted 
race,  much  more  easily  controlled  than  the  Hindoos, 
and  more  trustworthy  than  these.  They  are  Bud 
dhists —  that  is  to  say,  they  believe  in  a  Supreme 


156  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

God,  in  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments, 
and  in  the  existence,  at  a  time  long  past,  of  a  mighty 
and  holy  man,  whom  they  call  Buddha,  and  of  whom 
they  relate  most  wonderful  stories. 

According  to  the  legends  of  the  Cingalese,  Bud 
dha,  who  resided  principally  in  Hindostan,  I  believe, 
appeared  at  three  different  times  on  the  island  of 
Ceylon.  On  his  first  visit  he  expelled  the  devils 
who  were  at  that  time  its  sole  inhabitants.  On  his 
second  he  left  the  impress  of  his  foot  on  Adam's 
Peak.  On  his  third  and  last  visit  he  consecrated 
sixteen  places  for  divine  worship.  One  of  these 
places  is  now  overflowed  by  the  sea,  and  snakes 
which  are  bred  there  are  objects  of  adoration  to  the 
Buddhists. 

The  followers  of  Buddha  are  prohibited  from  kill 
ing  any  animal  whatever,  from  the  most  diminutive 
insect  up  to  man.  They  eat  no  meat,  consequently. 
They  also  abstain  from  liquor,  and  use  no  drug  which 
has  intoxicating  qualities. 

Like  the  Hindoos,  the  Cingalese  are  divided  into 
castes.  By  a  caste  is  meant  a  certain  occupation, 
which  becomes  by  an  unalterable  law  hereditary  in 
the  family.  In  Ceylon  there  are  nineteen  castes. 
The  first,  or  highest,  is  that  of  handerooas  or  vellalas, 
the  agriculturists ;  next  are  the  gopelooas,  or  keep 
ers  of  cattle ;  then,  in  regular  succession,  the  cara- 
was,  or  fishers ;  doorawas,  or  drawers  of  toddy,  the 
juice  of  the  cocoanut-tree ;  cambooas,  or  mechanics, 
such  as  goldsmiths,  carpenters,  &c. ;  somerooa*,  tan- 


CINGALESE   CASTEL.  157 

ners ;  cooinbelooas,  potters ;  indewas,  washers  ;  cha- 
/('<[.-;  cinnamon-peelers  ;  jayherers,  coolies,  or  common 
porters  ;  hirawas,  sieve-makers ;  pannikias,  barbers ; 
hoonas,  lime-burners ;  bereicayas,  tom-tom  beaters,  or 
drummers  ;  olios,  makers  of  charcoal ;  padooas,  pa 
lanquin-bearers  ;  kinereecu*,  weavers  of  mats ;  gahale- 
gau  bedeas,  executioners ;  and,  last  and  most  de 
spised  of  all,  W/KW  or  shenders,  persons  who  touch 
and  eat  dead  animals. 

I  have  given  you  this  long  list  in  order  that  you 
might  see  which  are  considered  the  most  respectable 
handicrafts  among  the  Cingalese.  It  is  singular, 
but  right,  that  cultivators  of  the  soil  should  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  list.  You  will  notice  that  the  three 
occupations  which  are  most  necessary  to  provide  sus 
tenance  for  the  country  at  large  are  held  in  greatest 
honor — the  farmers,  keepers  of  cattle,  and  fishers; 
and  you  will  notice,  also,  that  those  who  eat  or  han 
dle  meat  are  placed  even  below  the  executioners. 

The  members  of  each  of  these  castes  are  necessi 
tated,  by  law  and  usage,  to  live  separately,  as  dis 
tinct  tribes.  They  do  not  marry  out  of  their  own 
caste,  not  even  into  a  higher  one ;  and  a  man  of  one 
caste  will  not  eat  with  one  of  another.  The  preju 
dices  are,  however,  not  nearly  so  strong  here  as  in 
India.  There,  to  "  lose  caste"  by  a  breach  of  any 
one  of  the  numberless  laws  and  customs  which  fet 
ter  mind  as  well  as  body,  is  thought  worse  than 
death  itself.  And  some  of  the  penalties  which  are 
placed  on  those  unfortunates  who  are  outciists,  and 


158  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

by  suffering  which  they  win  back  their  places,  are 
cruel  and  horrible  in  the  extreme. 

To  have  an  iron  hook  put  through  the  flesh  be 
tween  the  shoulders,  and  be  hoisted  high  in  air  by 
a  rope  attached  to  this,  is  one  of  these  penalties.  To 
lie  down  on  a  bed  of  spikes  for  a  length  of  time ;  to 
walk  over  burning  coals ;  to  let  the  hair  and  nails 
grow,  and  abjure  the  use  of  water  as  a  purifier  for 
years — all  these  are  among  the  penalties  by  which 
a  poor  benighted  Hindoo  regains  the  privileges  of 
his  caste. 

From  all  that  I  can  find  in  books  on  the  Cinga 
lese,  they  seem  never  to  have  been  very  strict  in  their 
laws  of  caste,  and  have  none  of  that  horror  of  com 
ing  in  contact  with  Europeans,  or  persons  of  lower 
caste,  which  animates  the  Hindoo.  The  poorest 
coolie  or  Hindoo  laborer,  who  works  for,  perhaps, 
three  or  five  cents  per  day  and  a  meal  of  rice,  would 
sooner  suffer  any  punishment,  even  death  itself,  than 
to  eat  from  a  plate  or  drink  water  from  a  cup  which 
has  been  used  by  a  European.  The  Cingalese  much 
more  readily  adapt  themselves  to  the  ways  of  Eu 
ropeans,  and  do  not  refuse  even  to  eat  with  or  after 
them. 

Albert.  But,  by  this  law  of  caste,  if  a  man  is  a 
farmer,  or  a  fisherman,  or  a  carpenter,  must  all  his 
sons  be  the  same  ? 

George.  Yes ;  and  all  his  daughters  must  marry 
men  of  like  occupations  with  their  father ;  and 
should  they  break  through  this  law,  they  are  no  Ion- 


T1IE    LAWS    OF    CASTE.  159 

ger  received  in  any  caste,  and  are  placed  below  even 
the  executioner  and  the  meat-eater.  The  British 
government  has,  however,  interfered  to  prevent  many 
of  the  cruelties  which  used  to  be  practiced  both  in 
Ceylon  and  India  in  cases  of  breach  of  caste,  and  on 
other  occasions. 

The  lower  orders  of  the  Cingalese  wear  very  little 
clothing.  The  men  have  a  strip  of  cloth  which 
reaches  from  the  middle  to  just  above  the  knees. 
The  women  wear,  in  addition  to  this,  a  long  strip, 
which  is  thrown  across  the  shoulders,  and  reaches 
below  the  knees.  Most  of  them  use  a  little  tight 
white  jacket,  with  short  sleeves.  Among  the  mid 
dle  classes  the  men  wear  sleeved  waistcoats  of  white 
muslin ;  the  women  have  short  gowns.  In  addition, 
both  sexes  wear  a  gown  of  printed  calico  reaching  to 
the  ankles.  The  wealthier  people  wear  long,  un 
gainly  coats,  without  collars. 

The  laws  of  caste  regulate  the  clothing  which 
each  must  wear.  Only  certain  castes  are  permitted 
to  wear  coats,  to  carry  parasols,  or  to  have  servants 
attend  upon  them  with  umbrellas ;  and  we  are  told 
that  if  any  one  to  whom  these  privileges  are  not  al 
lowed  should  assume  them,  a  mob  would  immedi 
ately  surround  him,  and  take  him  before  a  magis 
trate  to  be  punished. 

How  thankful  should  we  be,  children,  that  we  are 
not  born  amid  such  benighted  people !  How  good 
it  is  to  think  that  the  missionaries  of  the  Gospel  are 
making  daily  inroads  into  this  system,  and  that  the 


160  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

day  may  not  be  far  off  when  the  millions  of  India 
will  cast  off  all  the  absurd  and  deadening  restric 
tions  of  caste,  and  become  free  men  under  the  cross ! 
When  you  give  your  pennies  to  the  missionary  cause 
in  the  Sabbath-school,  think  that  it  is  to  relieve 
these  people  of  their  prejudices,  and  enlighten  their 
minds,  that  missionary  collections  are  taken,  and 
missionaries  sent  to  foreign  lands. 

The  poorer  classes  of  the  Cingalese,  in  the  dis 
tricts  where  European  civilization  has  not  yet  made 
many  advances,  live  in  a  state  of  simple  rural  hap 
piness,  which  travelers  have  often  admired.  Their 
wants  are  but  few,  and  they  have  no  ambition  to 
gain  more .  than  will  fill  them.  Their  houses  are 
built  sometimes  of  timber  and  clay,  oftener  only  of 
posts  and  leaves.  They  are  never  of  more  than  a 
single  story.  The  roof  is  generally  thatched  with 
the  leaves  of  the  cocoanut.  In  so  mild  and  genial  a 
climate,  the  people  live  mostly  out  of  doors.  Houses 
are  used  principally  as  protections  from  rain,  and  as 
receptacles  for  their  few  goods. 

Every  hut  is  surrounded  with  beautiful  fruit-trees, 
and  under  these,  or  beneath  the  shade  of  a  little  ve 
randa,  the  family  reclines  in  contented  idleness,  or 
performs  its  light  daily  task.  The  kitchen  is  under 
a  tree,  and  consists  of  a  fire  built  between  two  stones, 
on  which  a  small  earthen  pot  is  set,  containing  the 
rice  or  curry  which  forms  the  daily  dinner.  Fruit, 
which  does  not  need  cooking,  is  the  chief  article  of 
food.  Where  rice  is  not  cultivated,  and  where  no 


HOW   THE    CINGALESE    LIVE.  1C1 

plantations  of  cinnamon  interfere  with  their  liberty, 
the  men  labor  very  little.  Upon  the  women  falls 
most  of  the  drudgery  of  life.  A  garden  which  con 
tains  twelve  cocoanut  and  two  bread-fruit  trees  makes 
its  owner  quite  independent,  without  exertion  of  any 
kind.  If  the  possessor  of  such  a  place  desires  any 
thing  which  does  not  grow  naturally  for  him,  his 
wife  is  sent  to  market  with  a  portion  of  the  fruit. 
She  there  barters  her  burden  for  whatever  is  needed. 

A  few  mats,  spread  upon  the  earthen  floor  for  beds 
at  night,  and  rolled  up  into  a  corner  by  day,  form 
the  only  furniture  of  a  hut.  Every  morning  the  in 
habitants  of  a  village  sweep  the  roads  before  their 
doors,  collect  the  fallen  leaves  and  other  sweepings, 
and  burn  all  upon  the  spot.  This  keeps  every  thing 
neat,  and  prevents  the  spread  of  sickness,  which 
would  soon  be  caused  by  the  decaying  vegetation, 
were  it  left. 

The  Cingalese  say,  with  the  Hindoos,  "it  is  better 
to  sit  than  to  stand ;  better  to  lie  down  than  to  sit ; 
better  to  sleep  than  to  be  awake ;  and  death  is  best 
of  all."  I  think  nothing  but  the  wretched  slavery  of 
the  caste  system  could  ever  reduce  so  naturally  in 
telligent  a  people  as  the  Hindoos  and  Cingalese  to 
so  utterly  purposeless  an  existence  as  I  have  shown 
you  above.  Do  you  not  think  that  every  Christian 
should  do  his  part  toward  redeeming  this  garden- 
spot  of  the  earth  from  the  curse  of  idolatry  and 
caste? 

All  classes  of  the  natives  of  Ceylon  use  the  betel 
I, 


162  STORIES    OP    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

leaf  to  chew.  The  wealthier  carry  at  their  side  a 
gold  or  silver  box  containing  this  leaf  and  the  areca- 
nut,  and  chunam,  which  are  used  in  conjunction  with 
it.  The  poorer  have  for  this  purpose  a  cloth,  or  a 
purse  of  colored  straw.  Ckunam  is  a  kind  of  lime 
made  of  small  shells,  burned  and  broken  up  very  fine. 
A  slice  of  areca-nut  and  a  pinch  of  chunam  are  roll 
ed  up  in  a  betel  leaf,  and  the  whole  is  put  into  the 
mouth  and  chewed.  Tnis  practice  gives  the  teeth 
and  lips  an  ugly  red  appearance,  which  is  disgusting 
to  one  unused  to  the  sight.  It  looks  like  an  inflam 
mation,  and  the  first  impression  to  a  stranger  is  that 
these  people  are  diseased.  The  Asiatics,  however, 
have  come  to  think  it  highly  ornamental.  Two 
people  seldom  meet  without  exchanging  portions  of 
the  mixture  ;  and  in  the  houses  of  the  rich  it  is 
handed  round  to  guests  on  vessels  of  silver. 

The  wealthier  ladies  wear  slippers,  but  no  stock 
ings.  When  entering  a  house  they  leave  their  slip 
pers  at  the  door.  The  men  have  small,  shallow- 
crowned  hats,  made  of  black  silk  or  velvet.  But 
these  are  seldom  worn.  Sometimes  a  servant  car 
ries  the  hat  after  his  master ;  oftener,  however,  it 
is  left  at  home.  The  hair  is  worn  short  before,  and 
neatly  turned  up  behind,  where  it  is  fixed  in  its  place 
by  a  large  comb  of  tortoise-shell  and  gold.  Fre 
quently  hair-needles  of  gold  and  jewels  are  pushed 
through  the  back  hair  of  the  ladies. 

Fanny.  Do  the  men  wear  combs  in  their  hair,  too, 
like  the  ladies  ? 


HOW    THE    CINGALESE    DRESS. 


163 


George.  Yes  ;  there  is  no  distinction  made  in  that 
particular.  You  will  see  by  this  picture  that  there 
is  no  difference. 


CINGALESE   MEN   AND   WOMEN. 

Whenever  the  wealthy  Cingalese  walk  out,  they 
have  with  them  servants  who  carry  umbrellas.  A 
man  of  high  rank  has  not  less  than  three  umbrellas 
held  over  him  to  protect  him  from  the  sun,  one  on 
each  side,  and  one  behind.  The  umbrellas  are  made 
of  the  leaf  of  the  talipot-tree.  The  slips  of  which 
the  leaves  are  formed  are  sewed  together;  and  the 
umbrella  is  shaped  precisely  like  Josephine's  fan,  and 
may  be  opened  and  shut  just  as  you  can  that.  An 
umbrella  is  generally  seven  feet  in  length,  and  about 


164  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

five  feet  broad  at  the  wide  end.  You  see  one  in  the 
picture  on  the  preceding  page. 

It  is  among  a  class  of  Cingalese  who  profess  Mo 
hammedanism  that  most  of  the  handicraftsmen  and 
merchants  are  found.  These  men  do  not  submit  to 
the  law  of  caste,  and  are,  consequently,  at  liberty  to 
apply  themselves  to  what  they  like  best.  Some  of 
them  are  very  ingenious  mechanics  ;  but  their  tools 
are  few  in  number,  and  extremely  simple. 

You  will  recollect  that  among  the  list  of  castes  I 
gave  you  a  while  ago  there  was  one  called  the  wash 
ers.  These  are  the  men  who  wash  clothes.  The 
women  have  here  nothing  to  do  with  this.  In  wash 
ing  no  soap  is  used.  The  clothes  are  taken  down 
to  the  bank  of  a  stream  or  lake,  dipped  in  the  wa 
ter,  and  beaten  out  against  a  smooth,  flat  stone. 
When  judged  clean  enough,  they  are  spread  in  the 
sun,  where  they  are  quickly  bleached  and  dried. 
This  method  is  practiced  all  over  India.  When  I 
was  in  Calcutta,  we  used  to  say  that  the  washman 
did  not  think  the  clothes  cleaned  until  the  buttons 
were  all  off,  inasmuch  as  no  buttons  were  ever  by 
any  chance  returned  with  shirts  or  jackets. 

The  Cingalese  have  a  written  language  which  dif 
fers  from  any  other  used  in  the  Indies.  They  write 
upon  the  leaf  of  the  talipot-tree  (from  which,  you 
will  remember,  they  also  make  umbrellas).  The 
leaves  are  neatly  cut  into  slips  two  inches  in  breadth, 
and  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length.  They  write  as  we 
do,  from  left  to  right.  When  it  is  desired  to  bind 


MARRIAGE    AND    FUNERAL    CEREMONIES.        165 

the  leaves  together  in  book  form,  a  round  hole  is 
made  in  each  li-nf.  Through  these  holes  a  string  is 
passed,  and  fastened  to  two  boards  of  the  same  size 
as  the  leaves.  A  piece  of  pointed  steel,  set  in  a 
handle,  serves  them  for  a  pen.  With  this  they  im 
press  the  characters  upon  the  soft  surface  of  the  led'. 
When  a  page  is  written  full,  the  surface  is  rubbed 
over  with  a  black  liquid,  which  fills  up  the  impres 
sions,  and  gives  the  characters  the  appearance  of  an 
engraving. 

The  marriage  ceremony  among  the  Cingalese  is 
performed  by  binding  the  thumbs  of  the  right  hands 
of  the  bride  and  groom  together,  and  pouring  wa 
ter  over  them  from  a  basin.  This  ceremony  must 
be  performed  by  the  groom's  father's  brother  and 
the  bride's  mother's  sister ;  or,  if  these  can  not  offi 
ciate,  by  the  next  of  kin. 

The  Malabars  still  burn  their  dead,  instead  of 
burying  them,  as  Christians  do.  The  corpse,  wrap 
ped  in  muslin,  is  carried  to  the  place  prepared.  No 
coffin  is  used.  Amid  the  hoarse  boom  of  the  tom 
tom,  and  the  deep-sounding  conch  shells,  the  proces 
sion  moves  on.  When  the  cortege  arrives  in  sight 
of  the  funeral  pyre,  a  halt  is  made,  and  the  leading 
priest  offers  up  a  prayer.  After  marching  in  silence 
around  the  pyre,  the  corpse  is  then  laid  on  the  wood. 
It  is  placed  in  a  reclining  position,  with  its  legs 
crossed,  and  its  face  exposed  to  view.  The  eyes  are 
now  sealed  with  a  red  paste.  A  white  screen  is 
drawn  about  the  form ;  water,  rice,  ground  cocoanut, 


166  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

and  money  are  then  thrown  upon  the  body,  and  the 
priest  offers  up  additional  prayers.  Next  the  legs 
are  stretched  out,  and  the  body  turned  with  its  face 
to  the  wood.  More  wood  is  placed  on  it,  till  it  is 
entirely  concealed  from  view. 

The  eldest  son,  or  nearest  relative  of  the  deceased, 
now  walks  three  times  round  the  pile,  carrying  an 
earthen  vessel  full  of  water  on  his  left  shoulder, 
and  a  lighted  torch  in  his  right  hand.  He  is  fol 
lowed  by  a  priest,  who,  at  the  completion  of  each 
turn,  pierces  a  hole  through  the  water  vessel  with 
the  sharp  point  of  a  conch  shell,  which  he  blows 
as  he  goes  round.  The  water,  of  course,  gushes 
out  of  the  holes  made  in  the  vessel.  Finally  a 
third  person  approaches  from  behind,  dashes  the 
earthen  pipkin  from  his  hand,  and  it  breaks  upon  the 
ground. 

The  relative  now,  turning  his  back  upon  the  pile, 
sets  fire  to  it ;  after  which  he  prostrates  himself 
upon  the  ground,  which  he  kisses.  The  priest  and 
the  relations  do  likewise.  They  are  then  led  away 
from  the  scene  of  the  solemnity  without  being  per 
mitted  to  look  back.  The  people  who  remain  add 
fire  to  the  pile,  and  the  whole  is  quickly  consumed. 
When  all  is  finished,  the  ashes  are  gathered  into  a 
heap,  near  to  which  a  green  bough,  or  flag  with  a 
stick,  is  planted.  To  this  place  the  relations  occa 
sionally  make  visits. 

I  told  you  that  numbers  of  the  Cingalese  living 
near  the  sea-shore  are  fishermen.  The  boats  which 


A    CATAMARAN.  167 

they  use  are,  as  you  may  suppose,  of  simple  con 
struction.  A  boat  is  formed  of  a  log  hollowed  out. 
It  is  about  fifteen  feet  long  by  three  deep,  and  so  nar 
row  that  a  man  can  scarcely  turn  about  in  it.  Of 
course,  such  a  vessel  would  be  capsized  by  the  slight 
est  motion.  To  remedy  this,  the  natives  fix  two 
arched  poles  to  the  side.  To  the  outer  end  of  these 
poles  (which  are  placed  at  right  angles  with  the  boat's 
side)  a  log,  sharp-pointed  at  both  ends,  is  fixed.  The 
weight  of  this  keeps  the  boat  from  turning  over  in 
one  direction,  while  its  buoyancy,  when  it  touches 
the  water,  keeps  her  from  capsizing  in  the  other ; 
and  by  this  simple  contrivance  the  fisherman  is  en 
abled  to  carry  sail  on  a  boat  which  otherwise  would 
not  bear  even  him.  Outriggers  of  like  construction 
are  used  in  all  the  South  Sea  Islands. 

From  the  Peninsula  of  Calpenteen,  which  lies 
along  the  western  shore  of  Ceylon,  wood  used  to  be 
exported  to  the  Coromandel  coast  of  India,  a  dis 
tance  of  several  hundred  miles.  The  vessels  used  for 
this  purpose  are  called  catamarans,  and  are  formed 
as  follows : 

Three  logs  are  so  placed  as  to  form  a  triangle,  and 
are  then  securely  bound  together.  Wood  is  now 
piled  on  till  it  is  judged  the  craft  is  sufficiently  load 
ed.  In  the  centre  of  the  wood  a  mast  is  placed. 
The  sail  being  set,  the  voyager  leaves  the  land,  feel 
ing  probably  as  secure  as  though  embarked  in  a  ship 
of  the  line.  As  the  monsoon  winds  blow  steadily 
in  those  latitudes,  there  is  no  storm  to  fear.  The 


168  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

sail,  once  set,  need  not  be  again  taken  in  till  the  ves 
sel  is  laid  at  her  wharf  in  port. 

We  now  come  to  speak  of  the  vegetable  produc 
tions  of  Ceylon.  First  in  usefulness  among  the  trees 
are  perhaps  the  cocoanut  and  bread-fruit.  Of  these, 
every  native  endeavors  to  have  a  few  about  his  cot 
tage,  and  from  them  he  can  live  almost  without  oth 
er  food.  The  cocoanut-tree  flourishes  in  nearly  all 
parts  of  Ceylon.  It  has  a  slender  trunk,  growing 
to  the  height  of  seventy  or  eighty  feet,  without  be 
ing  more  than  a  foot  in  diameter.  There  are  no 
boughs  or  leaves  along  the  body  of  the  tree.  At 
the  top  are  the  leaves,  eleven  or  twelve  feet  in  length, 
three  or  four  in  width,  and  pinnated.  There  are 
perhaps  a  dozen  of  these  leaves,  spreading  from  the 
top  in  a  circle.  Among  these,  and  close  to  the 
trunk,  the  cocoanuts  grow. 

When  any  of  the  fruit  is  wanted,  or  when  toddy 
is  to  be  drawn  from  the  buds  in  the  top  of  the  tree, 
a  native  climbs  up,  placing  his  hands  about  the  trunk, 
and  his  feet  against.  The  motion  seems  more  like 
walking  up  than  like  climbing,  and  is  performed  by 
them  without  difficulty.  Besides  the  nut  the  tree 
supplies  toddy,  a  pleasant  juice  drawn  from  the  top. 
This  toddy,  when  permitted  to  stand  in  the  sun,  will 
ferment ;  and  the  natives  make  of  it  an  intoxicating 
drink  called  arrack.  Besides  this,  the  fibrous  husks 
of  the  cocoanut  are  made  into  ropes,  called  coir. 
With  this  all  the  vessels  rigged  in  the  East  Indies 
are  supplied.  It  proves  very  valuable  where  it  is 


Off     II  IK    COCOANUT-TKEK.  169 

to  have  ropes  for  some  time  lying  in  salt 
water.  In  such  cases  hemp  or  Manilla  ropes  soon 
rot,  whereas  coir  rigging  will  last  for  years. 

But  the  leaves  also  are  made  use  of.  With  these 
the  natives  thatch  their  humble  huts.  Of  the  thin 
stalks,  or  nerves  of  the  leaves,  brooms  or  scrubbing- 
brushes  are  made ;  and  they  serve  equally  well  for 
tooth-picks.  Excellent  mats  for  the  floors  of  houses 
are  made,  too,  of  these  stalks. 

Oil  made  of  cocoanut  is  used  all  over  India  for 
cooking  purposes  and  for  lamps.  Cups  and  ladles 
are  made  of  the  shell.  A  fibrous  bark,  which  sur 
rounds  the  bottom  of  the  tree,  is  used  to  make  gun 
ny  cloth  of.  The  leaves  when  green  are  much  rel 
ished  by  the  elephant,  and  when  dry  are  useful  as 
torches  for  those  who  travel  after  night.  When  it 
is  necessary  to  cut  down  the  tree,  a  shoot  or  pith  at 
the  top,  two  feet  in  height  and  eight  inches  in  di 
ameter,  is  used  and  relished  under  the  name  of  co 
coanut  cabbage.  How  valuable  must  this  tree  be  to 
the  natives  of  the  East  Indies !  No  wonder  that  by 
many  of  the  South  Sea  Islanders  the  cocoanut-tree 
is  worshiped  as  a  sacred  gift  of  the  gods.  Almost 
every  want  of  a  rude  native,  in  the  mild  climate  of 
Ceylon,  is  supplied  by  it  alone. 

The  next  in  importance  among  the  trees  indigen 
ous  to  Ceylon  is  the  bread-fruit.     This  tree  grov 
large  as  an  oak,  and,  different  from  the  cocoanut, 
has  a  great  number  of  branches  striking  from  the 
trunk  almost  horizontally.    It  is  a  graceful  tree.    The 


170  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

leaves  are  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length,  ten  or  eleven 
inches  wide,  and  indented  somewhat  like  vine  leaves. 
The  bread-fruit  is  oval-shaped,  from  nine  to  eleven 
inches  long,  and  about  twelve  inches  in  circumfer 
ence.  It  has  a  rough  rind,  divided  by  lines  into  dia 
mond-shaped  patches,  somewhat  like  the  skin  of  a 
pine-apple.  This  species  of  bread-fruit  has  no  seeds. 
It  is  boiled,  then  cut  into  slices,  and  toasted.  When 
eaten  with  plenty  ot  butter,  it  tastes  somewhat  like 
potato. 

There  is  another  species  of  bread-fruit  in  Ceylon, 
known  as  the  jack-tree.  The  leaves  of  this  are  small 
er.  The  fruit  is  two  feet  long,  and  as  much  in  cir 
cumference,  and  weighs  fifty  pounds  or  more.  Out 
side  it  resembles  the  other.  Within  it  is  full  of 
almond-shaped  seeds,  each  inclosed  in  a  pulp  or  fleshy 
substance  somewhat  larger  than  a  peach.  This  has 
a  very  disagreeable  smell  when  opened.  The  natives 
eat  it  raw  as  well  as  cooked.  Strangers  do  not  gen 
erally  like  it  raw.  When  cooked  it  loses  its  dis 
agreeable  smell. 

Albert.  Did  you  ever  eat  bread-fruit,  George? 

George.  Yes  ;  but  I  Avas  never  very  fond  of  it.  I 
believe  no  stranger  is  fond  of  it  at  first.  The  taste 
is  acquired.  Many,  however,  come  to  like  it  as  well 
as  the  natives. 

The  cocoanut  and  bread-fruit  supply  food,  drink, 
thatch  for  roofs,  mats  for  bedding,  brushes  and 
brooms,  ropes,  firewood,  and  even  tooth-picks.  From 
the  talipot  the  Cingalese  gets  material  for  fans,  um- 


THE    UMBRELLA-TREE.  171 

brellas,  tents,  and  books.  This  tree  grows  very 
straight,  and  entirely  bare  to  the  height  of  a  hund 
red  feet.  At  that  distance  it  branches  out,  and  the 
head  is  sometimes  quite  large.  The  leaf,  which  is 
the  only  portion  of  the  tree  made  use  of,  is  from  sev 
en  to  twelve  feet  in  length,  and  five  or  six  feet  wide. 
It  is  divided  by  stems  or  stalks  into  a  number  of 
compartments,  and  may  be  folded  up  like  a  fan.  For 
tents  it  is  much  better  than  canvas,  inasmuch  as  no 
water  can  ever  soak  into  the  leaf,  and  it  is  always 
dry  and  easy  to  carry.  For  the  same  reason,  it  is 
preferred  to  silk  for  umbrellas.  The  slips  of  the  leaf 
make  the  best  writing-paper  which  the  Cingalese 
can  have  for  their  style  of  writing. 

Besides  these  trees,  Ceylon  has  the  palmyra,  the 
fruit  of  which,  besides  serving  for  food  at  various 
stages  of  its  growth,  aifords  sugar,  while  the  leaves 
also  make  umbrellas,  and  roofs  for  houses ;  and  the 
wood  is  highly  valued  on  account  of  its  hardness, 
and  its  capacity  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the 
white  ants,  those  plagues  of  the  Indies,  who  pene 
trate  into  every  nook  and  corner,  leaving  no  place 
sacred  from  their  assaults. 

Thejaygree,  or  sago  palm,  from  the  pith  of  which 
sago  is  made.  The  areca,  which  produces  those  are- 
ca  nuts  which  are  so  generally  used  for  chewing. 
And  the  banyan,  or  Indian  fig,  about  which  we  were 
talking  a  few  days  ago.  This  sometimes  covers 
many  acres  of  ground  with  the  branches,  which, 
drooping  to  the  ground,  take  root,  and  support  the 


172  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WOULD. 

parent  stem  in  its  farther  outstretchings.  The  main 
trunk  of  this  tree  attains  great  size,  being  sometimes 
found  from  twenty-one  to  thirty  feet  in  circumference. 
The  branches,  which  stand  firmly  in  the  ground  like 
pillars  of  support,  are  of  various  sizes,  from  diminu 
tive  stalks  the  thickness  of  a  hazel  rod  to  a  massive 
stem  eleven  feet  in  circumference. 

The  leaves  of  the  banyan-tree  are  five  inches  long 
by  three  and  a  half  broad,  and  grow  thickly  upon 
the  tree.  There  is,  therefore,  at  all  times  a  dense 
shade  under  the  tree.  One  of  the  pleasantest  loung- 
ing-places  during  the  sweltering  heats  of  noontime 
in  the  Isle  of  France  I  found  to  be  beneath  a  large 
banyan,  which  grew  just  at  the  water  side,  near  the 
custom-house  quays.  No  matter  how  fiercely  the 
sun  poured  down  his  rays  otherwheres,  here  it  was 
always  cool ;  no  matter  how  little  breeze  there  was 
stirring  in  town  or  harbor,  beneath  the  dense  shades 
of  this  banyan  there  was  always  a  pleasant  circula 
tion  of  air.  Opposite  is  a  sketch  of  a  banyan-tree. 
You  can  see  the  main  trunk.  It  is  very  thick,  but 
not  high.  Numbers  of  pillars  are  dropped  down 
and  have  taken  root,  thus  lending  a  support  which 
enables  the  tree  to  stretch  still  farther  its  arms.  The 
shoots  or  pillars  are  in  general  very  straight,  and 
never  have  branches  or  leaves.  They  are  covered 
with  a  smooth,  silver-colored  bark. 

The  climate  and  soil  of  Ceylon  are  highly  favor 
able  to  the  growth  of  all  tropical  fruits;  and  we 
find  nearly  all  of  these  indigenous.  The  plantain 


U.KSK     I  I.TITS. 


173 


A   BANYAN-TREE   IN   CEYLON. 


and  banana,  the  orange,  shaddock,  pomegranate,  pine 
apple,  guava,  custard-apple,  tamarind,  and  various 
other  delicious  fruits,  are  at  home  here,  and  flourish 
with  very  little  care  or  cultivation.  These  fruits 
form  a  great  portion  of  the  subsistence  of  the  poorer 
classes  of  Cingalese. 

In  agriculture  the  natives  are  very  much  behind 
hand.  Their  farm  implements  consist  of  a  rude 
plow,  a  hoe,  and  a  reaping-hook.  In  some  parts  the 
ground  is  not  even  plowed,  but  only  tramped  over 
by  cattle;  and  in  other  parts  of  the  country  the 
grain  is  not  cut.  but  pulled  out  by  the  roots.  Under 


174  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

the  British  rule,  however,  many  improvements  have 
been  introduced,  and  those  natives  who  farm  under 
the  direction  of  English  overseers  use  now,  to  some 
extent,  such  farm-tools  as  are  in  use  in  Great  Britain 
and  America. 

Although  cinnamon  seems  still  to  continue  the 
principal  article  of  export  from  the  island,  black  pep 
per,  sugar,  coffee,  tobacco,  and  rice  are  grown  ;  and 
more  or  less  of  all  but  the  last-named  article  is  year 
ly  exported.  Of  rice  Ceylon  does  not  at  present  pro 
duce  sufficient  to  supply  the  home  demand,  and  con 
siderable  quantities  are  annually  imported  from  dif 
ferent  parts  of  India. 

As,  when  speaking  of  Madagascar,  I  told  you  how 
rice  was  cultivated  there,  and,  when  on  the  subject 
of  Java,  we  saw  how  a  coffee  plantation  is  carried 
on,  so  we  will  now  take  a  walk  (in  imagination) 
through  a  cinnamon  grove.  The  cinnamon-tree  is 
called  coorimdoo  by  the  Cingalese.  It  is  a  species 
of  laurel. 

"  The  trees,"  says  Rev.  James  Cordiner,  in  his 
"Account  of  the  Island  of  Ceylon,"  "  in  their  un 
cultivated  state,  grow  to  the  height  of  from  twenty 
to  thirty  feet.  The  trunk  is  about  three  feet  in  cir 
cumference,  and  puts  out  a  great  number  of  large, 
spreading,  horizontal  branches,  clothed  with  thick 
foliage.  The  roots  are  fibrous,  hard,  and  tough,  cov 
ered  with  an  odoriferous  bark,  on  the  outside  of  a 
grayish  brown,  and  on  the  inside  of  a  reddish  hue. 
They  strike  about  three  feet  into  the  earth,  and  spread 


THE   CINNAMON-TREE.  175 

to  a  considerable  distance.  Many  of  them  smell 
strongly  of  camphor,  which  is  extracted  from  them. 

"  The  leaves  are  of  an  oval  shape,  from  four  to  six 
inches  in  length,  and  from  two  inches  to  two  and  a 
quarter  in  breadth,  with  a  smooth  surface,  and  plain 
edge.  The  stalk  of  the  leaf,  which  is  nearly  three 
quarters  of  an  inch  in  length,  is  very  pleasant  to  eat, 
and,  when  chewed,  flavors  very  strongly  of  cinna 
mon,  but  is  fresher  and  more  full  of  juice.  The  leaf 
itself  has  scarcely  any  taste.  When  the  young  leaves 
first  shoot  out  from  the  top  of  the  branches,  they  are 
partly  of  a  bright  red  and  partly  of  a  pale  yellow 
hue.  After  a  short  time  they  become  of  a  beauti 
ful  pea-green  ;  and  when  they  have  attained  full  ma 
turity,  they  put  on  a  dark  olive  color.  The  upper 
surface  is  of  a  deep,  and  the  back  of  the  leaf  of  a 
light  green." 

The  blossoms,  which  hang  in  clusters  somewhat 
like  the  lilac,  are  white,  with  a  brownish  tinge  in 
the  centre.  The  tree  has  a  fruit  in  shape  resem 
bling  an  acorn,  and  in  taste  like  a  juniper-berry,  but 
of  the  size  of  a  black  currant.  The  smell  of  the 
blossom  is  not  strong,  but  resembles  a  mixture  of 
rose  and  lilac.  The  fruit  is  boiled  in  water,  to  ob 
tain  from  it  an  oil,  which  is  used  in  the  houses  of 
the  wealthy  for  burning  in  lamps.  Candles  are  also 
made  of  it,  as  it  congeals  when  allowed  to  cool. 
The  smell  of  the  oil  is  said  to  be  much  preferable  to 
that  of  cocoanut  oil. 

The  cinnamon  of  commerce — that  of  which  Fan- 


176  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

ny  and  Albert  are  so  fond — is  obtained  from  young 
shoots.  That  taken  from  the  older  trees  is  not  so 
good.  It  is  coarse,  and  has  not  the  delicate  flavor 
of  the  bark  taken  from  the  younger  branches.  Where 
it  is  cultivated,  therefore,  the  trees  are  not  allowed 
to  grow  higher  than  ten  feet.  They  are  trimmed 
down ;  the  consequence  of  which  is  that  they  send 
out  numbers  of  young  shoots  from  the  roots.  It  is 
from  these  shoots,  when  they  come  to  be  as  long  and 
thick  as  a  common  walking-cane,  that  the  bark  is 
obtained  which  we  buy  as  cinnamon. 

The  cinnamon-tree  may  be  propagated  in  five  dif 
ferent  ways.  The  first  is  to  raise  the  tree  from 
seeds.  This  is  perhaps  the  safest  method,  but  is  ex 
ceedingly  tedious.  In  three  years  after  planting  the 
seed,  each  bush  affords  one  branch  fit  for  cutting. 
At  the  end  of  five  years  it  will  give  from  three  to 
five  branches.  But  it  is  not  till  the  eighth  year 
that  it  reaches  its  full  strength,  and  sends  forth  ten 
branches  of  an  inch  in  diameter.  From  the  tenth 
to  the  twelfth  year  the  tree  is  in  its  most  flourishing 
condition.  But,  as  only  the  sprouts  and  the  roots 
are  made  use  of,  its  life  and  its  usefulness  continue 
for  many  years  more. 

The  second  manner  of  propagation  is  by  shoots 
cut  from  large  trees.  These  require  to  be  handled 
and  tended  very  carefully,  and  even  then  often  do 
not  thrive.  The  third  manner  is  by  layers  taken 
from  the  sprouts.  Those  cultivated  in  this  way  are 
in  their  prime  in  eight  years. 


HOW    CINNAMON    IS    GROWN.  177 

The  fourth  mode  is  by  transplanting  the  old  roots. 
In  this  way  cinnamon  shoots  of  the  usual  size  are 
obtained  in  twelve  months  after  transplanting.  But 
to  attain  success  by  this  mode,  great  care  is  neces 
sary  in  handling  the  roots.  If  any  of  the  smaller 
roots  receive  even  the  slightest  injury,  they  perish. 

The  fifth  mode  is  to  burn  down  the  stump  of  the 
old  tree.  This  is  said  to  give  new  vitality  to  the 
roots,  causing  them  to  send  forth  a  number  of  healthy 
straight  shoot?,  which  yield  the  finest  of  cinnamon. 

A  dry  soil  and  frequent  rain  are  necessary  to 
produce  cinnamon  of  the  finest  quality.  The  ma- 
rendan,  or  grounds  about  Columbo,  in  which  cinna 
mon  is  raised,  consist  of  a  surface  of  pure  white  sand, 
with  a  subsoil  of  rich  mould.  So  white  is  the  sand, 
that  in  places  where  shell  or  gravel  walks  have  been 
made,  the  sanJI,  which  forms  the  borders  of  these 
walks,  looks  to  a  European  almost  like  snow. 

The  cinnamon-trees  blossom  in  January.  In  April 
the  fruit  is  ripe,  and  shortly  afterward  the  business 
of  cutting  off  and  barking  the  young  shoots  is  com 
menced.  May  and  June  are  accounted  the  most  fa 
vorable  months,  but  in  most  cases  the  harvest  lasts, 
with  intermissions,  from  May  till  October. 

This  harvest  gives  employment  to  many  hands. 
The  labor  falls  to  the  share  of  a  distinct  caste  among 
the  Cingalese.  They  are  called  chali<r//.<,  and  rank 
ninth  in  grade.  They  are  generally  very  poor,  but 
happily  very  contented.  Each  man  is  bound  to  de- 
livi-r  annually  a  certain  quantity  of  cinnamon  bark 
M 


178  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

to  the  officers  appointed  by  government  to  receive 
it.  As  a  recompense  for  this  labor,  he  enjoys,  free 
of  rent,  a  garden  and  piece  of  land.  They  have,  in 
addition,  as  a  class,  some  few  privileges,  and  receive 
from  the  government  a  remuneration  in  rice  or 
money. 

A  plantation  resembles  a  young  forest,  and  shows 
few  signs  of  cultivation.  When  the  harvest-time  is 
at  hand,  each  man  is  obliged  to  furnish  daily  a  quan 
tity  of  sticks,  about  as  many  as  he  can  carry.  "  The 
first  object  of  the  laborer  is  to  select  a  tree  of  the 
proper  kind.  This  he  distinguishes  by  its  leaves 
and  other  characteristics.  If  it  bears  fruit  it  is  in 
good  health,  and  the  bark  will  peel  off  without  dif 
ficulty.  To  prove  whether  or  not  it  is  ripe,  he  strikes 
his  hatchet  obliquely  into  a  branch.  If,  on  draw 
ing  it  out,  the  bark  divides  from  the  wood,  the  cin 
namon  has  attained  its  maturity ;  but  if  the  bark 
adhere,  the  branch  must  be  left  till  it  exhibits  signs 
of  a  readiness  to  peel." 

The  shoots  which  are  cut  down  are  from  three  to 
five  feet  in  length,  and  about  three  quarters  of  an 
inch  in  diameter.  When  a  load  is  cut,  the  laborer 
gathers  it  in  his  arms,  and  carries  it  to  a  hut  or 
shed.  Here  the  operations  of  peeling  off  and  pre 
paring  the  bark  are  performed.  The  first  object  is 
to  chip  off  all  leaves  and  small  shoots  from  the  branch 
to  be  peeled.  This  done,  with  a  hooked  knife  two 
longitudinal  cuts  are  made  on  opposite  sides  of  the 
bark.  The  bark  is  now  gradually  loosened  with  the 


PEELING   CINNAMON.  179 

convex,  blunt  side  of  the  knife,  and  finally  stripped 
oft'  in  two  pieces  of  the  entire  length  of  the  stick. 
Tli esc  are  passed  to  another  laborer. 

He  sits  on  the  ground,  and  has  before  him  a  block 
of  wood,  from  which  a  round  stick  projects  toward 
him.  Upon  this  round  stick  he  lays  a  strip  of  bark, 
and,  holding  it  fast  with  his  feet,  scrapes  off  with  a 
knife  the  outside  thin  skin.  This,  which  is  brown 
without  and  green  within,  if  left  on  communicates 
to  the  cinnamon  an  unpleasant  bitter  taste.  Con 
siderable  attention  is  necessary,  therefore,  as  it  is  im 
portant  that  none  of  this  bitter  bark  remain ;  nev 
ertheless,  small  pieces  are  often  left.  It  was  most 
likely  a  piece  of  this  outside  skin  which  made  your 
cinnamon  taste  so  bitter  the  other  day,  Albert. 

When  perfectly  cleaned,  the  cinnamon  is  of  a  pale 
yellow  color,  and  about  the  thickness  of  parchment. 
It  is  now  spread  on  mats,  and  left  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
It  soon  begins  to  curl  up.  Before  quite  dry,  small 
er  pieces  are  put  into  the  larger,  and  they  are  now 
left  to  dry  and  shrivel  up  close  together,  until  they 
appear  almost  like  solid  rods.  As  it  dries,  the  cin 
namon  assumes  a  darker  color,  until  it  attains  the 
hue  it  has  when  we  see  it  in  the  stores  or  at  home. 

When  dried,  the  rods  are  laid  carefully  together, 
and  tied  up  with  pliant  canes  in  bundles  of  differ 
ent  sizes,  sufficient  for  one  or  two  men  to  carry. 
When  it  arrives  at  the  government  warehouses,  it 
is  repacked  in  bundles  of  a  certain  size  and  weight, 
easy  to  handle.  It  is  then  sewed  up  in  double  thick- 


180  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

nesses  of  coarse  cloth,  and  transported  to  the  ship. 
Here  it  is  usual  to  place  a  layer  of  pepper  between 
the  bales  of  cinnamon,  and  also  to  fill  up  all  the 
crevices  between  the  bales  in  like  manner.  The 
pepper  preserves  the  cinnamon  by  drawing  toward 
itself  all  the  superfluous  moisture.  At  the  same 
time,  it  is  said  the  flavor  of  the  pepper  is  improved. 

Until  about  thirty  years  before  the  conquest  of 
Ceylon  by  the  British,  which  occurred  in  1795,  it 
was  generally  believed  that  only  cinnamon  growing 
wild  had  any  flavor,  and  that  cultivation  would  cause 
it  to  deteriorate  in  this  particular.  Accordingly, 
laborers  annually  proceeded  to  the  woods,  and  there 
gathered  the  bark.  The  Dutch  governor,  Falk,  who 
at  that  time  ruled  the  island,  caused  some  seeds  to 
be  planted  in  his  garden  to  experiment  on  the  tree. 
The  plants  grew  finely,  but,  after  giving  the  great 
est  promise,  suddenly  withered  and  died.  This  seem 
ed  to  establish  the  correctness  of  the  general  suppo 
sition  that  cinnamon  would  not  prosper  under  cul 
tivation. 

It  was,  however,  discovered  that  a  native,  whose 
only  employment  was  to  cut  cinnamon  in  the  woods, 
had  looked  with  disfavor  on  an  experiment  which, 
if  successful,  might  rob  him  of  his  employment,  and 
had  secretly  sprinkled  warm  water  over  the  young 
shoots,  thereby  destroying  them.  Renewed  experi 
ments  were  made,  and,  these  being  successful,  large 
plantations  were  shortly  laid  out,  and  cinnamon  cul 
tivation  commenced  in  earnest. 


COFFEE    CULTURE.  181 

Of  late  years  coffee  has  been  planted  and  culti 
vated  very  extensively  in  Ceylon.  The  climate  ami 
soil  there  seem  to  be  even  better  adapted  to  this 
plant  than  they  have  been  found  to  be  in  Java,  and 
therefore  the  number  of  acres  planted  in  coffee  is  an 
nually  increasing. 

As  it  is  already  late,  we  will  stop  our  story  here, 
and  finish  the  account  of  Ceylon  to-morrow  even 
ing.  I  will  then  relate  to  you  the  manner  in  which 
elephants  are  caught  and  tamed,  and  how  the  pearl- 
fishers  bring  up  from  the  bottom  of  the  ocean  the 
oysters  from  which  pearls  are  obtained. 


EVENING  THE  SIXTH. 

"  ARE  we  to  hear  about  the  elephants  to-night  ?" 
inquired  little  Fanny,  as  she  ran  in  from  "  such  a 
nice  game  at  snow-balls,"  in  which  Albert  and  Fan 
ny  had  thrown  down  that  great  George,  and  nicely 
rubbed  his  face  with  snow.  The  children  stood 
around  the  fire,  laughing  with  glee  at  George's  cold 
face,  and  the  recollection  of  the  struggle. 

"Just  think,  mother,"  said  Albert,  "that  Fanny 
and  I  threw  George  over,  so  that  he  fell  at  full  length 
into  the  snow." 

"  I  thought  it  was  an  earthquake  when  he  fell," 
said  Josephine,  who  had  watched  the  sport  through 
the  window. 

William  now  brought  in  an  armful  of  wood,  and 
the  children,  having  gotten  their  hands  warmed,  gath 
ered  about  George's  accustomed  seat  on  the  sofa  to 
hear  about  the  elephants. 

Fanny.  You  must  not  tell  such  frightful  stories 
as  Albert  likes.  I  always  dream  about  them,  and 
it  makes  me  afraid. 

Albert.  But  you  ought  not  to  be  afraid.  There 
are  no  elephants  here ;  and  if  there  were,  we  would 
not  let  them  hurt  you. 

George.  I  shall  not  have  any  thing  very  frightful 
to  tell,  so  be  quite  easy  in  your  mind,  little  pet.  I 


BUFFALO    HUNTS.  183 

think  it  best  to  give  you  some  account  of  the  other 
quadrupeds  of  Ceylon  before  I  speak  of  the  modes  in 
use  to  catch  and  tame  elephants. 

The  largest  and  most  formidable  animal  next  to 
the  elephant  is  the  buffalo.  This  animal  is  some 
what  smaller  than  one  of  our  oxen.  Its  legs  are 
shorter,  and  its  hoofs  larger.  Its  horns  bend  back 
ward  upon  the  neck,  which  they  almost  touch  when 
the  animal  holds  his  head  straight.  Its  skin  is  black 
or  dark  gray,  and  it  has  but  little  hair.  It  has  a 
fierce  and  sullen  expression,  and  if  met  with  in  its 
wild  state  is  very  apt  to  attack  a  man.  Hunters 
say  that  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to  kill.  Unless  a 
ball  be  put  in  just  at  the  shoulder,  the  buffalo  is  apt 
to  take  very  little  notice  of  it.  And  this  one  vul 
nerable  point,  it  is  said,  it  can  cover  with  its  horns, 
when  its  head  is  laid  back  in  an  attitude  of  atten 
tion  or  defiance. 

Mr.  Baker,  an  English  gentleman  who  spent  some 
years  in  the  wilds  of  Ceylon  hunting  elephants,  tells 
of  some  hair-breadth  escapes  in  his  conflicts  with  buf 
faloes.  He  speaks  of  putting  two  balls  into  a  buf 
falo's  breast,  just  at  the  point  of  connection  with  the 
throat,  without  making  the  animal  flinch.  He  stood 
knee-deep  in  water,  at  only  fifteen  pa^es  distance 
from  his  formidable  antagonist.  At  the  second  dis 
charge  the  animal  made  a  spring,  which  decreased 
the  distance  between  them  to  ten  paces.  "\Vith  both 
rifle-barrels  empty,  a  fierce  animal  before  him,  and 
no  place  of  refuge  nearer  than  half  a  mile,  the  hunter 


184  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

and  hunted  stood  in  the  water  keenly  eyeing  each 
other.  Mr.  Baker  had  expended  his  last  ball,  and 
could  not,  therefore,  reload.  The  case  was  growing 
desperate  for  him. 

In  this  emergency,  and  when  about  to  prepare  for 
a  last  desperate  contest,  in  which  he  would  have  to 
depend  upon  his  hunting-knife  as  his  only  protection, 
he  luckily  bethought  him  of  some  small  change  he 
had  in  his  pocket.  Without  taking  his  eyes  off  those 
of  the  animal,  he  hurriedly  put  a  double  charge  of 
powder  in  one  rifle-barrel,  and  rammed  down  over  it 
a  handful  of  English  sixpences. 

This  was  scarcely  done  when  the  bull  again  sprang 
toward  him.  His  ramrod  was  dropped  into  the  wa 
ter  in  his  haste,  and  he  now  faced  the  enemy,  re 
solved  this  time  to  reserve  his  fire  till  the  animal 
was  -within  a  foot  of  the  muzzle  of  his  gun. 

Another  spring,  and  his  gun  touched  the  bull's 
forehead.  In  this  moment  he  fired.  The  bull  fell 
over  with  the  force  of  the  blow,  and  our  hunter, 
without  waiting  to  see  if  he  was  killed,  made  for  a 
tree  which  stood  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile. 

Arrived  there,  he  looked  back,  and  saw  the  buf 
falo  stretched  upon  the  sand  a  couple  of  hundred 
yards  behind  him.  Without  examining  him  any 
closer,  he  immediately  caught  his  horse  in  an  adjoin 
ing  wood,  and  rode  off  for  help,  thinking  certainly 
to  find  the  animal  next  morning  somewhere  in  the 
neighborhood.  But  when  he  arrived  upon  the  spot 
on  the  following  day  with  a  supply  of  ammunition 


TAME    BUFFALOES.  185 

and  a  party  of  natives,  the  buffalo  was  gone.  Not 
withstanding  his  throe  wounds,  any  one  of  which 
would  have  proved  almost  instantly  fatal  to  a  com 
mon  animal,  he  had  retained  sufficient  strength  to 
make  his  escape  good  to  a  retreat  in  the  woods. 

The  buffaloes  of  Ceylon  ace  tamed  and  used  for 
plowing,  and  as  draft  cattle  generally.  The  milk 
of  the  cows  is  also  used.  It  has  not,  however,  so 
sweet  a  flavor  as  the  milk  of  other  cattle.  From 
the  little  labor  required  of  them,  many  of  the  tamed 
buffaloes  relapse  into  a  state  of  semi-wildness,  and 
sometimes  alarm  travelers  by  suddenly  advancing  to 
ward  them  from  woods  or  marshes.  They  are  in 
general,  however,  entirely  harmless,  and  only  drawn 
toward  strangers  by  curiosity.  They  like  much  to 
wallow  in  muddy  pools,  and,  when  not  employed  by 
their  masters,  will  spend  several  hours  of  the  day 
standing  up  to  their  necks  in  filthy  water. 

Of  hogs  great  numbers  are  raised.  Sheep,  goat?, 
and  horses  were  first  introduced  by  Europeans,  and 
are  therefore  scarce.  The  woods  abound  with  deer 
of  various  species.  One  kind  is  mentioned,  which 
has  in  perfection  the  form  of  a  deer,  yet  is  little  lar 
ger  than  a  full-grown  rabbit. 

Fanny.  They  must  be  dear  little  things.  I  should 
like  to  have  one.  It  would  make  a  much  nicer  pet 
than  that  fawn  we  saw  once  in  a  garden. 

George.  I  should  think  one  of  those  small  deers 
would  make  a  very  pretty  little  pet.  In  the  wilds 
are  found  the  cheetah,  or  spotted  tiiror,  which  grows 


186  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

to  be  five  feet  in  length ;  two  species  of  wild-cats ;  wild 
hogs,  which  are  very  fierce,  together  with  porcupines, 
raccoons,  and  squirrels.  The  urban  goose,  the  arma 
dillo,  and  the  ichneumon,  are  also  frequently  met. 

The  ichneumon  is  a  wonderful  little  animal,  which 
has  a  natural  enmity  to  serpents,  and  destroys  them 
wherever  it  meets  with  them.  When,  in  its  con 
flicts  with  poisonous  snakes,  one  of  these  succeeds  in 
wounding  it,  it  immediately  darts  into  the  grass,  and 
there  finds  some  vegetable  matter,  by  eating  which 
the  poison  of  the  serpent  is  counteracted.  And  it 
has  been  found  that,  although  so  severely  wounded 
as  to  be  apparently  quite  exhausted,  a  taste  of  this 
mysterious  plant  revives  all  its  energies,  and  enables 
it  to  overcome  its  formidable  enemy. 

Scientific  men  in  India  have  endeavored  for  a  long 
while  to  discover  what  plant  has  the  wonderful  ef 
fect  of  thus  protecting  the  ichneumon  from  the  most 
deadly  poisons ;  but,  so  far,  all  their  efforts  have  been 
vain.  It  has,  however,  been  proven  by  experiment, 
that  if  the  ichneumon,  in  its  combat  with  a  serpent, 
be  confined  to  a  space  entirely  devoid  of  vegetation, 
it  soon  succumbs  to  the  bites  of  its  enemy. 

The  woods  of  Ceylon  are  enlivened  with  several 
varieties  of  monkeys.  One  species  is  described  as 
being  of  the  size  of  a  spaniel  dog,  of  a  darkish  gray 
color,  with  black  face,  and  great  white  beard  sur 
rounding  the  face  from  ear  to  ear.  This  gives  it  a 
venerable  appearance  which  is  exceedingly  laugh 
able.  Though  looking  so  grave  and  wise,  it  is  quite 


MONKEY    ANTICS.  187 

as  mischievous  as  any  others  of  its  kind.  There  is 
another  kind  of  monkey,  which  is  milk-white  all 
over,  and  has  also  a  large  beard. 

It  is  related  of  the  apes  that,  in  order  to  get  at  fields 
of  grain,  they  divide  themselves  into  two  parties,  sta 
tioning  themselves  at  opposite  ends  of  a  field.  The 
inhabitants,  who  well  know  their  thieving  propen 
sities,  set  a  watch  over  each  field.  One  party  of 
the  apes  advance  toward  this  guard ;  and  while  he 
drives  them  away,  the  other  party  enter  the  opposite 
end  of  the  field,  and  hurriedly  fill  their  hands  and 
the  pouches  which  they  have  in  their  cheeks,  eating 
all  they  can  meanwhile.  The  natives  of  Ceylon  do 
not  appear  to  hold  the  monkeys  sacred,  as  is  done 
in  diiferent  parts  of  India.  They  eat  them,  and 
count  their  meat  very  palatable. 

Among  the  strange  and  beautiful  birds  of  Ceylon 
is  a  green  pigeon,  the  meat  of  which  is  esteemed  a 
great  luxury.  There  are  also  numbers  of  parroquets. 
Peafowls  are  found  wild  in  the  woods.  There  is  a 
bird  which  is  very  fond  of  honey,  and  will  search 
out,  with  great  perseverance  and  ingenuity,  the  hives 
of  wild  bees  in  the  woods.  The  natives  sometimes 
follow  it,  and  themselves  take  possession  of  the  prize 
which  the  bird  has  found. 

The  stork,  crane,  heron,  and  pelican,  or  spoonbill, 
are  found  on  the  lakes  and  rivers.  Crows  abound, 
and  make  their  lodgments  on  almost  every  house-top. 
They  act  as  scavengers,  removing  all  the  garbage, 
which  would,  but  for  them,  remain  to  decay  and  pro- 


188  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

duce  disease.  The  natives,  therefore,  hold  them  in 
considerable  esteem. 

Of  reptiles  Ceylon  has  a  great  variety.  In  the  la 
goons  are  found  alligators.  In  the  woods,  the  cobra 
di  capello,  or  hooded  snake,  the  most  dreaded  ser 
pent  of  India,  is  found,  together  with  the  boa  con 
strictor,  the  green  snake,  and  water  snakes.  There 
is  also  a  house  snake,  which  is  not  poisonous.  There 
is  a  lizard,  eight  inches  long,  which  has  excited  the 
wonder  of  naturalists  by  its  ability  to  cling  to  and 
run  along  the  ceilings  of  houses.  You  have  seen  and 
wondered  how  a  fly  can  walk  as  well  along  the  ceil 
ing  as  upon  the  floor.  This  lizard,  though  so  large, 
seeks  his  prey,  a  large  species  of  roach,  on  the  ceil 
ing  as  well  as  on  the  walls  and  floor.  There  is  also 
a  flying  lizard,  which  must  be  a  strange-looking  an 
imal.  I  have  never  seen  one,  but  should  think  it 
must  somewhat  resemble  the  pictures  of  dragons 
which  we  see  in  old  books. 

Captain  Robert  Knox,  an  Englishman,  who  was 
a  prisoner  among  the  Cingalese  for  nearly  twenty 
years,  published,  in  the  year  1681,  a  history  of  Cey 
lon,  in  which  he  gives  a  most  faithful  and  extended 
view  of  the  products  of  the  island,  and  of  the  man 
ners  and  customs  of  the  inhabitants.  But,  like  most 
of  the  old  travelers,  he  takes  great  delight  in  de 
tailing  wonderful  stories,  received  from  the  natives, 
of  the  powers  and  peculiarities  of  various  animals 
native  to  the  country  where  he  so  long  resided. 

This  Captain  Knox  tells  us  of  two  snakes  which 


AN    ANCIENT   SNAKE-STORY.  189 

an-  :it  mortal  enmity  with  cadi  other,  and  never 
meet  without  a  battle  royal  ensuing,  in  which  one  or 
both  of  the  combatants  are  slain.  One  of  these  ser 
pents  he  calls  the  prolonga,  the  other  the  noya,  giv 
ing  to  them  the  name  assigned  by  the  natives.  The 
last  is  said  to  be  harmless  to  man,  and  is  held  in  es 
teem  by  the  Cingalese,  who  call  it  by  a  name  signi 
fying  "king  snake." 

Of  the  origin  of  the  feud  between  these  two  ser 
pents  Knox  gives  the  following  account,  which  he 
heard  recited  by  the  natives.  I  will  tell  it  to  you 
as  he  gives  it,  telling  you  beforehand,  however,  that 
it  is  only  one  among  the  many  fables  in  which  East 
ern  nations  find  much  amusement,  but  which  they 
scarcely  themselves  believe : 

"  These  two  serpents  chanced  to  meet,"  says  Knox, 
"  in  a  dry  season  when  water  was  scarce.  The  pro- 
longa,  being  almost  famished  for  thirst,  asked  the 
noya  where  he  might  go  to  find  a  little  water.  The 
noya,  a  little  before,  had  met  with  a  bowl  of  water, 
in  which  a  child  lay  playing,  as  it  is  usual  among 
this  people  to  wash  their  children  in  a  bowl  of  wa 
ter,  and  leave  them  to  tumble  and  play  in  it.  Here 
the  noya  quenched  his  thirst ;  but,  as  he  was  drink 
ing,  the  child  that  lay  in  the  bowl,  out  of  his  inno- 
cency  and  play,  hit  him  on  the  head  with  his  hand, 
which  the  noya  made  no  matter  of,  but  bore  patient 
ly,  knowing  it  was  not  done  out  of  any  malice ; 
:snd,  having  drunk  as  much  as  sufficed  him,  went 
away  without  doing  the  child  any  harm. 


190  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

"  Being  minded  to  direct  the  prolonga  to  this  bowl, 
but  desirous  withal  to  preserve  the  child,  he  told  him 
that  he  knew  of  water,  but  that  he  (the  prolonga) 
was  such  a  surly,  hasty  creature,  that  he  was  fear 
ful  to  let  him  know  where  it  was,  lest  he  might  do 
some  mischief.  Making  him,  therefore,  promise  that 
he  would  not,  he  then  told  him  that  at  such  a  place 
there  was  a  bowl  of  water  with  a  child  playing  in  it, 
and  that  probably  the  child  might,  as  he  was  tum 
bling,  give  him  a  pat  on  the  head,  as  he  had  done 
to  him  before;  but  charged  him,  nevertheless,  not 
to  hurt  the  child  ;  which  the  prolonga  having  prom 
ised,  went  his  way  toward  the  water  as  the  noya  had 
directed  him. 

"  The  noya,  knowing  his  touchy  disposition,  went 
after  him,  fearing  he  might  do  the  child  a  mischief, 
and  that  thereby  he  himself  might  be  deprived  of  the 
like  benefit  afterward.  It  fell  out  as  he  feared.  For 
as  the  prolonga  drank,  the  child  patted  him  on  the 
head,  and  he,  in  his  hasty  humor,  bit  him  on  the 
hand  and  killed  him.  The  noya,  seeing  this,  re 
solved  to  be  revenged ;  and  so,  reproaching  him  for 
his  baseness,  fought  him  till  he  killed  him,  and  aft 
er  that  devoured  him.  And  to  this  day,"  says  Knox, 
"  they  always  fight  when  they  meet,  and  the  con 
queror  eats  the  body  of  the  vanquished.  Hence  the 
proverb  among  the  Chingulayes  [which  was  the  old 
method  of  spelling  Cingalese],  when  they  see  two  men 
irreconcilable,  they  compare  them  to  the  prolonga 
and  noya,  saying,  'noya  prolonga  wagke' — that  is, 
like  a  noya  and  prolonga." 


CEYLONESE   WHITE    ANTS.  101 

With  such  wonderful  stories  travelers  of  ancient 
times  used  to  regale  their  hearers  and  readers  ;  and 
they  practiced  this,  not  as  desiring  to  deceive  the  ig 
norant  or  credulous,  but  because,  simple  souls !  they 
were  themselves  prepared,  from  the  wonders  they 
saw  in  foreign  lands,  to  believe  on  many  marvels  of 
which  they  only  heard. 

Albert.  I  should  like  very  much  to  read  some  of 
the  stories  of  those  old  travelers. 

George.  You  must  first  read  attentively  the  more 
modern  accounts  of  these  countries,  wherein  men  of 
learning  and  science  have  communicated  to  the  world 
many  interesting  facts  in  history,  natural  history, 
and  geography.  And  when  you  have  these  true 
stories  well  impressed  upon  your  mind,  you  may  read, 
without  injury  to  yourself  and  with  double  pleasure, 
the  wonderful  tales  brought  back  by  such  men  as 
Marco  Polo,  the  Venetian,  Captain  Knox,  and  a 
score  of  other  adventurers,  travelers  of  the  fifteenth, 
sixteenth,  and  seventeenth  centuries.  You  will  then 
be  able  to  see  in  how  many  cases  the  most  incredi 
ble  of  their  stpries  were  founded  in  fact,  and  have 
been  verified  by  the  explorers  of  the  present  day. 

In  common  with  most  tropical  countries,  Ceylon 
is  plagued  with  ants.  There  are  several  species, 
some  red,  some  black,  and  others  white.  The  white 
ants  commit  the  greatest  ravages.  Nothing  is  safe 
from  their  assaults.  The  common  red  ants  are  the 
most  numerous  about  houses.  They  inhabit  the* 
walls,  and  sally  forth  in  swarms  in  search  of  prey. 


192  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

If  a  piece  of  sugar  be  dropped  upon  the  floor,  it  is 
instantly  covered  with  these  insects.  If  any  kind 
of  food  be  left  uncovered,  even  only  for  a  minute, 
they  make  an  assault  upon  it. 

They  seem  to  act  much  as  our  garden  ants  do, 
each  one  carrying  off  a  share  of  any  object  of  which 
they  may  have  gotten  possession.  Only,  as  they 
are  far  more  numerous,  so  are  they  much  more  en 
ergetic  and  rapacious,  if  so  small  an  animal  may  be 
said  to  be  rapacious.  It  is  a  very  common  thing  to 
see  a  swarm  of  them  drawing  along  the  body  of  one 
of  the  large  roaches,  which  also  infest  the  cupboards 
and  pantries  of  Ceylonese  houses.  These  roaches 
are  often  found  as  large  as  mice,  and  you  may  im 
agine  what  disgusting  creatures  they  are.  I  have 
myself  seen  them  running  across  the  floor  of  a  dark 
ened  room,  and  thought  from  their  size  that  they 
were  mice. 

The  little  house  ants  will  sometimes  attack  a  live 
roach,  and  make  him  their  prey.  A  swarm  sur 
round  and  attack  him  on  all  sides,  and  in  a  short 
time  he  is  thrown  over  on  his  back.  Being  now 
helpless,  he  is  speedily  stung  to  death  by  his  Lili- 
putian  enemies,  and  then  torn  limb  from  limb,  and 
dragged  off. 

In  the  houses  of  Europeans,  where  much  cooking 
is  done,  these  little  red  ants  do  great  damage.  The 
greatest  care  is  necessary  on  the  part  of  servants  to 
preserve  bread  and  other  food  from  their  approaches. 
If  a  loaf  is  left  but  for  a  minute,  the  heart  of  it  will 


PLEASURES    OF   THE    TROPICS.  193 

be  found  filled  with  ants.  Sugar  and  meat  are  gen 
erally  placed  in  tubs,  and  suspended  by  a  rope  cov 
ered  with  tar.  To  preserve  bread,  an  inverted  bowl 
is  placed  in  a  dish  filled  with  water.  On  top  of  the 
bowl,  in  a  plate,  the  bread  is  deposited.  Even  bed 
steads  must  be  protected  by  placing  the  posts  or  pil 
lars  in  vessels  filled  with  water. 

Thus  you  see,  children,  that  however  much  some 
countries  are  favored  by  Providence,  there  is  always 
some  evil  to  counterbalance  the  good.  If  Ceylon 
has  delicious  fruits  and  spices,  it  has  also  fierce  wild 
beasts  and  deadly  serpents.  If  it  has  a  climate  sel 
dom  equaled  in  genial  mildness,  this  very  climate 
fosters  swarms  of  disgusting  and  vexatious  animals, 
which  go  far  to  render  life  uncomfortable. 

To  have  your  rambles  made  unpleasant  by  the 
fear  of  poisonous  snakes,  your  rest  disturbed  by  the 
dread  of  centipedes  and  scorpions,  your  food  destroy 
ed  by  myriads  of  ants,  and  your  dwelling  constant 
ly  invaded  by  countless  swarms  of  noisome,  creep 
ing,  crawling,  and  flying  things,  is  found  by  most 
Europeans  to  more  than  counterbalance  all  the  de 
lights  of  climate  and  productions  for  which  Ceylon 
is  justly  favored.  If  we  look  at  these  things  right 
ly  and  soberly,  I  think  we  shall,  after  all,  arrive  at 
the  opinion  that  there  is  for  us  "no  place  like  home." 

And  now  we  come  at  last  to  the  elephants.  Cey 
lon  has  three  kinds  or  species  of  these  animals.  The 
first  has  long  tusks  turning  upward.  This  is  con 
sidered  the  most  tractable,  as  well  as  the  most  ele- 
X 


194  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WOKLD. 

gantly  shaped.  The  second  has  short  tusks,  point 
ing  straight  to  the  ground.  The  third  has  no  tusks 
at  all.  This  last  is  the  most  numerous,  the  most 
savage,  and  the  most  destructive  to  the  crops  of  the 
natives. 

Ceylonese  elephants  grow  to  a  height  of  between 
ten  and  eleven  feet.  When  they  have  attained  this 
stature,  the  trunk  is  generally  seven  feet  long,  and 
from  three  to  four  inches  in  diameter.  You  know, 
of  course,  that  this  trunk  is  of  as  much  use  to  him 
as  a  hand  is  to  a  man ;  that  with  it  he  breaks  off 
the  branches  of  trees,  and  tears  them  in  such  pieces 
as  will  make  convenient  mouthfuls ;  that  he  uses  it 
not  only  to  put  food  into  his  mouth,  but  that  he  also 
draws  water  and  other  liquids  through  it  into  his 
throat;  that,  while  it  is  sufficiently  strong  to  ena 
ble  him  to  lift  heavy  burdens  by  it  and  use  it  as  a 
weapon  of  defense,  its  organization  is  so  delicate  as 
that  he  feels  the  slightest  jag  of  a  needle,  and  with 
ease  picks  up  a  pin,  or  a  small  flat  coin,  from  a 
smooth  floor.  Numberless  are  the  uses  which  the 
elephant  makes  of  his  trunk.  Without  it  he  would 
doubtless  be  what  he  seems,  the  clumsiest  of  all 
creatures ;  with  its  aid  he  ranks,  in  point  of  ability 
to  do,  undoubtedly  next  to  man. 

You  have  all  seen  an  elephant  in  a  menagerie. 
You  have  admired  his  vast  bulk,  his  gentleness,  his 
perfect  docility,  and  a  sagacity  which  surpasses  that 
of  all  the  other  brute  creation  ;  and  you  have  doubt 
less  laughed  at  his  clumsy  trot,  his  huge  flapping 


ELEPHANT    HUNTING.  195 

ears,  his  little  twinkling  eyes,  bis  almost  hairless 
hide,  and  odd  little  tail. 

Hunters  and  naturalists  state  that  elephants  roam 
through  their  native  woods  in  herds  of  eight  or  ten, 
the  greater  portion  of  whom  in  general  are  females. 
Their  favorite  food  is  young  bamboo,  lemon-grass, 
and  the  leaves  and  young  branches  of  certain  trees. 
They  feed  mostly  at  night,  avoiding  the  heat  of  the 
day  by  taking  refuge  in  the  thick  jungle,  which  is 
their  principal  home. 

Mr.  Baker,  the  gentleman  whose  adventure  with 
a  Ceylonese  buffalo  I  related  to  you  a  while  ago, 
gives,  in  his  interesting  book,  many  particulars  of 
the  habits  of  the  elephant.  He  says  that  occasion 
ally  a  bull,  as  the  male  elephant  is  called,  quits  the 
society  of  his  fellows,  and  leads  a  solitary  life  in 
some  portion  of  the  jungle  which  he  selects  for  a  her 
mitage.  Such  a  hermit  is  called  by  the  natives  a 
"  rogue."  He  is  found  to  be  much  more  savage 
than  those  of  his  fellows  who  are  found  in  herds ; 
and,  from  the  instances  which  Mr.  Baker  gives,  their 
cunning  seems  most  wonderful.  He  never  seeks  to 
avoid  an  attack ;  neither  does  he  expose  himself  un 
necessarily  :  but,  rather,  having  scented  the  hunter, 
waits  noiselessly  in  his  concealment  in  the  jungle  till 
the  devoted  man  is  within  his  reach,  and  then  rush 
es  out  upon  him  with  a  shrill  scream  of  rage,  which 
in  itself  must  be  calculated  to  startle  a  little-experi 
enced  huntsman  from  his  propriety.  There  is  no 
time  to  run.  Woe  to  the  hunter  who,  in  such  an 


196  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

emergency,  loses  his  presence  of  mind.  A  quick  aim, 
a  sure  fire,  and  the  most  dauntless  coolness  and  in 
trepidity,  are  qualities  which  seem  pre-eminently 
necessary  in  this  species  of  "sporting." 

Mr.  Baker  relates  an  instance  where,  in  pursuit  of 
a  herd,  he  and  his  brother  came  into  a  small  open 
space,  about  thirty  feet  by  twenty,  surrounded  by  a 
thick  and,  to  them,  impenetrable  jungle  of  thorny 
brush.  "While  standing  here,  watching  the  herd  and 
debating  whether  to  follow  them  into  a  swampy  tract 
upon  which  they  had  taken  refuge,  the  huge  wall  of 
brush  and  trees  was  suddenly  broken  through  by  an 
enormously  large  elephant,  who  rushed  upon  one  of 
the  hunters. 

He  had  barely  time  to  cock  his  rifle  ere  the  "rogue" 
was  upon  him.  The  rifle  touched  the  beast  ere  the 
first  ball  was  sent  into  his  body. 

"  I  knew  it  was  in  vain,"  says  Mr.  Baker,  "  as  his 
trunk  was  raised,  so  that  the  bullet  could  not  touch 
his  brain.  B.  (his  brother)  fired  his  right-hand  bar 
rel  at  the  same  moment  without  eifect  from  the  same 
cause.  I  jumped  on  one  side,  and  attempted  to 
spring  through  the  deep  mud.  It  was  of  no  use  ; 
the  long  grass  entangled  my  feet,  and  in  another  in 
stant  I  lay  sprawling  in  the  enraged  elephant's  path, 
within  a  single  foot  of  him." 

Fanny.  Oh,  George,  was  the  gentleman  killed? 

Albert.  Why  no,  or  else  how  could  he  have  writ 
ten  a  book?  Go  ahead,  George  ;  let  us  hear  the  bal 
ance  of  the  story. 


A    DESPERATE    ENCOUNTER.  197 

George.  "  In  that  moment  of  suspense,"  continues 
Mr.  Baker,  "  I  expected  to  hear  the  crack  of  my  own 
bones,  as  his  massive  foot  would  be  upon  me.  It 
was  but  an  instant.  I  heard  the  crack  of  B.'s  last 
barrel ;  I  felt  a  spongy  weight  strike  my  heel,  and, 
turning  quickly  heels  over  head,  I  rolled  a  few  paces 
and  regained  my  feet.  That  last  shot  had  floored 
him  just  as  he  was  upon  me.  The  end  of  his  trunk 
had  fallen  upon  my  heel.  Still  he  was  not  dead; 
but  he  struck  at  me  with  his  trunk  as  I  passed  round 
his  head  to  give  him  a  finisher  with  the  four-ounce 
rifle  which  I  had  snatched  from  our  solitary  gun- 
bearer." 

Josephine.  And  so  for  that  time  the  gentleman  es 
caped.  I  am  so  glad.  I  thought  he  would  certain 
ly  be  killed. 

George.  AVait  till  you  hear  the  balance  of  the 
story.  Mr.  Baker  continues  :  "  My  back  was  touch 
ing  the  jungle  from  which  the  rogue  had  charged, 
and  I  was  almost  in  the  act  of  firing  through  the 
temple  of  the  still  struggling  elephant,  when  I  heard 
a  tremendous  crash  in  the  jungle  behind  me  similar 
to  the  first,  and  the  savage  scream  of  an  elephant. 
I  saw  the  ponderous  fore  leg  cleave  its  way  through 
the  brush  directly  upon  me.  I  threw  my  whole 
weight  back  against  the  ratans  to  avoid  him,  and 
the  next  moment  his  foot  was  placed  within  an  inch 
of  mine.  His  lofty  head  was  passing  over  me  in  full 
charge  at  B.,  who  was  unloaded,  when,  holding  the 
four-ounce  rifle  perpendicularly,  I  fired  exactly  un- 


198  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

der  his  throat.  I  thought  he  would  fall  upon  me 
and  crush  me  ;  but  this  shot  was  my  only  chance, 
as  B.  was  perfectly  helpless." 

Mr.  Baker  goes  on  to  tell  that,  after  the  smoke 
subsided,  he  found  that  his  prize  did  not  fall.  He 
still  staggered  toward  "  B.,"  the  blood  pouring  from 
his  death-wound.  "  B."  avoided  him,  and  the  beast, 
now  almost  senseless,  staggered  on  through  the  jun 
gle,  and  into  a  marsh,  where  our  hunters  found  his 
body  a  few  days  afterward. 

Elephants  seem  to  be  very  numerous  in  some  parts 
of  Ceylon.  In  a  trip  lasting  altogether  only  three 
weeks,  Mr.  Baker  and  his  companions  killed  over 
fifty ;  and,  during  the  five  years  which  he  spent  in 
Ceylon,  Mr.  Baker  himself  must  have  killed  three  or 
four  hundred. 

Fanny.  Albert,  would  not  you  be  afraid  of  the 
wild  elephants'? 

Albert.  No,  indeed,  I  should  very  much  like  to  go 
to  Ceylon  once  and  shoot  elephants.  I  think  it 
would  be  glorious  fun.  I  believe  I  could  pop  one 
down  if  I  had  a  good  rifle. 

William.  I  think  I  would  rather  stay  at  home 
than  go  out  there  among  snakes,  and  tigers,  and  oth 
er  wild  beasts. 

Albert.  I  would  like,  of  all  things,  to  go  on  an 
elephant  hunt. 

George.  Hunters  shoot  elephants  only  for  the  sport, 
and  for  the  purpose  of  relieving  the  country  of  their 
depredations.  No  use  can  be  made  of  the  carcass ; 


NOOSING   ELEPHANTS.  201 

and,  as  I  before  stated,  the  species  most  numerous 
in  Ceylon  have  no  tusks ;  so  the  huge  bodies  are  left 
to  decay  in  the  woods.  And  hunters  are  obliged  to 
avoid  the  part  of  the  woods  where  they  have  killed 
elephants,  on  account  of  the  noisome  stench  arising 
from  the  decay  of  so  huge  a  mass  of  flesh. 

A V lien  it  is  desired  to  preserve  them  for  farther 
use,  elephants  are  caught  alive.  Sometimes  men 
stealthily  approach  one  when  feeding,  and  place 
nooses  of  large  raw-hide  ropes  in  such  positions  that 
he  will  get  his  feet  into  them.  As  soon  as  he  steps 
into  the  toils,  the  natives  pull  back,  and  the  ropes 
are  made  fast  to  trees.  The  elephant  now  vainly 
struggles  for  liberty.  The  hide  ropes  stretch  with 
the  elasticity  of  India-rubber,  and  with  the  rebound 
generally  throw  the  elephant.  "When  he  becomes  a 
little  tired,  his  legs  are  securely  hoppled,  and  his 
trunk  carefully  fastened  down  to  his  fore  leg,  and 
then  he  is  driven  toward  the  village.  One  can  hard 
ly  call  it  dricing,  as,  to  make  him  go  in  the  required 
direction,  men  are  generally  sent  in  advance  to  tor 
ment  him.  He  rushes  after  them,  and  at  each  pur 
suit  decreases  the  distance  between  himself  and  the 
homes  of  his  captors. 

Arrived  at  the  village,  he  is  once  more  secured  to 
trees.  The  taming  process  is  now  begun.  The  first 
day  he  is  starved.  The  next  day  he  is  cajoled  and 
petted.  On  the  third,  unless  the  elephant  is  an 
extraordinarily  savage  fellow,  a  native  can  mount 
his  back  and  ride  him  around,  using  the  precaution, 


202  STORIES    OP    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

however,  to  have  his  trunk  securely  lashed  to  his 
fore  leg. 

But  to  catch  elephants  thus,  one  at  a  time,  is  too 
slow  a  method  to  be  adopted  in  a  country  over 
which  they  roam  by  the  score.  The  natives  have, 
accordingly,  long  practiced  a  method  by  which  from 
fifty  to  sixty  are  taken  captive  at  once.  As  many 
men  are  needed  to  put  in  successful  operation  this 
method,  it  was  usual  in  former  times  for  the  native 
government  to  take  the  supervision  of  a  catch  in  its 
own  hands. 

When  it  has  been  determined  to  have  an  elephant 
hunt,  men  are  sent  into  the  woods,  as  scouts,  to  dis 
cover  a  space  where  the  animals  shall  be  found  in 
abundance.  This  done,  and  the  ground  of  opera 
tions  duly  selected,  an  order  is  issued  to  all  the  in 
habitants  of  the  district  to  surround  the  forest  with 
fires.  These  fires  are  built  on  movable  platforms 
raised  four  feet  from  the  ground.  They  must  be 
kept  alight  during  the  continuance  of  the  hunt. 
They  are  placed  at  first  about  one  hundred  paces 
apart. 

On  a  hunt  witnessed  by  Rev.  Peter  Cordiner,  op 
erations  were  begun  thirty  miles  from  the  snare  in 
which  the  elephants  were  finally  mastered,  and  three 
thousand  men  were  employed  for  two  months  in  sup 
porting  the  fires  and  guarding  the  circle. 

This  circle  is  gradually  but  surely  made  smaller. 
An  advance  of  nearly  a  mile  per  day  is  made  on  ev 
ery  side.  As  the  circle  grows  narrower,  of  course, 


AN    ELEPHANT    SNARE,  200 

the  fires  are  brought  closer  together,  until  at  last 
they  are  but  ten  paces  apart.  As  the  space  within 
is  decreased,  the  elephants  become  alarmed,  and  re 
doubled  vigilance  is  necessaiy  to  prevent  their  escape. 

I  must  now  describe  the  snare  to  you.  This  is 
funnel-shaped.  The  wide  end  is  three  hundred  yards 
across.  The  small  end  opens  into  another  inclosure, 
one  hundred  feet  by  forty,  which  terminates  finally 
in  a  passage  one  hundred  feet  long  by  five  feet  wide. 
It  is  in  this  narrow  passage  that  the  elephants  are 
secured  before  being  led  out,  one  by  one,  to  the  sta 
bles  prepared  for  their  reception.  Across  the  large 
funnel,  as  we  will  call  it,  not  fur  from  its  mouth,  a 
barricade  is  erected,  in  which  are  four  openings  suf 
ficiently  spacious  to  admit  an  elephant. 

The  inclosures  are  formed  of  stout  trees,  set  four 
feet  deep  in  the  ground,  leaning  inward,  and  rising 
from  sixteen  to  twenty  feet  above  the  surface.  The 
trees  must  be  from  eight  to  ten  inches  in  diameter. 
They  are  placed  sixteen  inches  apart,  and  are  united 
at  different  distances  by  other  logs,  which  run  across, 
and  are  lashed  to  the  uprights  by  means  of  pliant 
canes.  Additional  supports  are  ranged  on  the  out 
side,  to  make  the  whole  secure  against  the  assaults 
of  the  elephants.  Boughs  of  trees  are  also  thrown 
over  the  palisades,  that  the  beasts  may  not  too  dis 
tinctly  see  the  slightness  of  the  obstacles  placed  be 
tween  themselves  and  liberty. 

Suppose,  now,  that  two  months  have  elapsed  since 
the  commencement  of  the  hunt.  The  circle  has 


204  STORIES    OP   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

been  gradually  narrowed,  till  now  the  half-frantic 
elephants  within  are  surrounded  by  a  closely-con 
nected  line  of  torches  and  fires,  while  crowds  of  na 
tives  drive  the  vast  herd  toward  the  opening  in  the 
palisades,  amid  firing  of  muskets,  rockets,  and  squibs. 
Trampling  down  brushwood,  and  breaking  trees  where 
they  stand  in  their  course,  the  animals  at  last  enter 
the  inclosure.  They  approach  the  barricade  which 
forms  the  entrance,  and,  intimidated  by  the  redoubled 
shouting  and  firing,  crowd  through  the  gates. 

No  sooner  has  the  last  elephant  entered  than  the 
natives  hasten  to  close  these  gates  with  heavy  posts 
and  logs  previously  prepared  for  this  purpose,  aim 
ing  to  make  this  part  even  stronger  than  those  ad 
jacent.  This  done,  the  herd  is  driven  farther  down, 
toward  the  entrance  to  the  second  space.  This  en 
trance  is  a  passage  only  sufficiently  large  to  admit 
one  elephant  at  a  time.  It  is  closed  by  means  of  a 
gate,  which,  being  made  of  stout  reeds  and  bamboos 
strongly  fastened  together,  is  rolled  up  somewhat  like 
a  curtain.  A  man  sits  on  the  top  of  the  gate-posts, 
in  readiness  to  cut  the  band  which  suspends  this 
gate  whenever  the  small  fold  shall  be  full  enough. 

At  the  snaring  witnessed  by  Mr.  Cordiner,  seventy 
elephants  were  driven  into  this  small  fold  before  the 
gate  was  lowered.  The  narrow  space  was  so  cram 
med  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  animals  even  to 
turn  about.  One  hundred  more  were  left  in  the 
outer  prison  till  the  first  seventy  were  disposed  of. 

As  soon  as  the  four  outer  gates  are  closed,  natives 


WITHIN    THE    PALE.  205 

enter  through  spaces  left  between  the  palisades,  and 
form  a  line  with  fires  and  torches  in  the  rear  of  the 
elephants,  thus  urging  them  on  toward  the  small 
pale.  When  this  is  filled,  those  left  in  the  outer 
place  are  allowed  a  little  quiet.  A  close  watch  is, 
however,  kept,  that  none  may  break  through  the  pal 
ing,  an  accident  which  sometimes  happens,  notwith 
standing  their  vigilance. 

Crowded  together  in  a  narrow  space,  treading  on 
each  other,  without  room  to  move,  and  with  scarce 
ly  space  to  breathe,  the  situation  of  the  elephants  is 
pitiful  in  the  extreme,  and  their  roars  of  rage  and 
more  plaintive  notes  of  suffering  excite  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  beholder.  Quite  frequently  the  small 
er  of  the  animals  are  trodden  under  foot,  and  thus 
perish;  and  not  seldom  even  grown  elephants  fall 
down  from  exhaustion,  and  are  killed  by  the  tread 
of  their  half-crazed  companions. 

The  troop  makes  constant  efforts  to  escape.  But 
the  entire  pale  is  surrounded  by  fires  and  torches,  and 
numbers  of  natives  are  always  ready  to  repel  any 
attack  upon  the  palisades.  All  movement  in  the 
small  pale  is  purposely  rendered  more  difficult  by 
leading  through  the  ground  a  small  stream  of  water. 
In  this,  and  the  marshy  soil  adjacent,  the  elephants 
are  comparatively  helpless. 

The  end  now  draws  nigh.  Men  stationed  at  the 
top  of  the  palisades  with  crackers  and  long  iron 
hooks,  urge  the  foremost  elephant  into  the  narrow 
passage^ before  spoken  of.  lie  has  a  foreboding  that 


206  STORIES  OF    THE    ISLAND   WORLD. 

evil  is  here  to  befall  him,  and  refuses  to  go.  But 
the  hallooing  in  his  rear  is  so  great,  and  the  fire 
crackers,  squibs,  and  other  assaulting  missiles  so  ter 
rify  him,  that  he  finally  advances.  He  has  gone  but 
a  few  yards  before  he  tries  to  return.  Not  having 
room  to  turn  around,  he  commences  to  back  out. 
Some  large  bars  are  speedily  put  across  the  passage 
to  stop  his  exit.  On  arriving  at  the  farther  end  of 
the  passage,  new  crossbars  are  immediately  shoved 
in  behind  the  elephant.  He  is  thus  closely  confined, 
in  order  that  he  may  have  no  opportunity  to  use  his 
immense  strength,  which,  if  he  had  perfect  freedom, 
would  doubtless  be  sufficient,  in  this  his  last  extrem 
ity,  to  break  down  all  bars  to  his  liberty.  Some 
times,  when  the  elephant  is  thus  confined  at  the  end 
of  the  narrow  passage,  he  rears  on  his  hind  legs ;  to 
prevent  this,  and  also  to  facilitate  the  passage  of  a 
rope  about  his  neck,  stout  beams  are  securely  lashed 
above  him. 

Now  begins  the  labor  of  securing  the  animal's 
feet,  neck,  and  trunk  with  ropes.  His  attempts  at 
escape  become  extremely  violent,  and  it  needs  all  the 
cunning  and  vigilance  of  the  natives  to  master  him. 
Sometimes  he  rises  on  his  hind  legs,  and  breaks  the 
logs  laid  over  his  back ;  sometimes  he  rushes  des 
perately  at  the  gate,  which  he  perceives  to  be  the 
terminus  of  his  prison  ;  and  again  he  bears  his  whole 
weight  against  the  palisades,  to  break  them  down. 
At  every  point  he  is  opposed  by  men  armed  with 
spears.  With  the  sharp  points  of  these  weapons  his 


SKCtKIN.,     TIIK    I'lJI/K.  207 

resistance  is  made  painful  to  himself.  Meantime 
large  ropes  are  laid  down  beneath  his  hind  legs  to 
catch  them  ;  as  soon  as  he  places  his  foot  in  a  noose, 
it  is  drawn  tight.  Five  or  six  turns  of  smaller  rope 
are  then  placed  about  his  neck  as  a  kind  of  collar. 

AVhon  the  animal  is  completely  harnessed,  two 
tame  elephants,  trained  to  this  work,  are  brought  to 
the  entrance.  The  gate  is  now  removed ;  the  wild 
elephant  rushes  out  till  brought  to  a  stop  by  the 
ropes  fastened  to  his  hind  legs.  Then  the  tame  ones 
place  themselves  on  each  side  of  him.  Men  get  on 
the  tame  beasts,  and  secure  the  collars  of  all  three 
together.  During  this  operation,  the  wild  one  gen 
erally  uses  every  means  to  injure  those  who  are  en 
gaged  in  fastening  him.  He  endeavors  to  strike  them 
with  his  trunk  or  with  his  head.  But  his  tame 
friends  watch  every  movement,  gently  lower  his  trunk 
with  theirs,  and,  if  he  is  very  obstinate  and  wicked, 
batter  him  with  their  heads  till  he  is  subdued. 

This  accomplished,  the  nooses  are  taken  from  his 
hind  legs,  and  the  elephant  is  marched  along,  in 
pompous  procession,  between  his  two  tame  brethren, 
to  the  stall  prepared  for  his  reception.  Here  his 
head  and  his  feet  are  secured  to  large  trees  and  to 
stakes  planted  in  the  ground,  and  supported  in  part 
by  the  trees  ;  and  this  done,  the  tame  elephants  are 
led  off  to  take  the  charge  of  another  prisoner. 

From  the  time  he  has  been  led  out  of  the  gate  till 
this  moment,  the  wild  animal  has  been  tolerably  do 
cile.  The  tame  leaders  understand  very  well  the 


208  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WOULD. 

art  of  managing  their  charges  and  calming  their  ex 
citement.  So  long  as  the  three  are  together,  no  dif 
ficulty  is  experienced  in  managing  the  prisoner ;  but 
the  moment  when  they  leave  him  seems  to  renew 
and  redouble  all  his  former  rage  and  despair.  With 
dreadful  roars,  he  struggles  to  break  loose  from  his 
bonds.  Stout  trees  quiver  from  top  to  root  at  his 
efforts,  and,  were  not  the  greatest  care  used  to  fasten 
securely  the  desperate  animal,  he  would  doubtless 
regain  his  liberty. 

During  this  paroxysm,  cocoanut  leaves  and  ba 
nana-trees  are  brought  him.  He  tramples  them  un 
der  foot,  or  throws  them  far  away.  By-and-by, 
however,  he  feels  the  pangs  of  hunger,  and  content 
edly  takes  what  is  brought  him  by  an  attendant; 
and  so  in  a  few  days  he  is  sufficiently  quieted  to  be 
loosened,  and  taken  to  water  in  company  with  some 
tame  elephants.  In  about  eight  days  he  can  be  safe 
ly  ridden  about,  although  instances  are  known  where 
two  months  were  necessary  to  subdue  an  animal. 

The  balance  of  the  elephants  are  taken  out  in  reg 
ular  succession,  and  tied  just  as  the  first  one.  When 
there  are  but  few  left  in  the  pale,  it  is  often  exceed 
ingly  difficult  to  make  them  enter  the  narrow  lane. 
Shouting  and  fire-works  sometimes  have  no  effect, 
and  even  showers  of  musket  balls  have  been  known 
to  fail.  In  such  cases  accidents  often  happen.  Mr. 
Cordiner  saw  a  native  fall  from  the  top  of  a  palisade 
post  among  the  herd  of  elephants.  He  was  instant 
ly  trampled  to  pieces.  Occasionally  the  beasts  lie 


OKIES    OF    THE    ELEPHANTS.  209 

down.  Various  devices  are  then  resorted  to  to  force 
tin -in  to  rise,  J>oinetimes,  so  great  is  their  obstinacy 
or  exhaustion,  fires  have  to  be  kindled  around  them 
to  force  them  from  their  recumbent  position. 

To  secure  ono  hundred  and  seventy  elephants  is  a 
labor  of  several  days.  From  twenty  to  thirty  per 
day  is  the  greatest  number  which  can  be  taken  from 
one  exit  lane.  Meantime  the  balance  must  be  fed 
regularly,  and  this  is  a  labor  requiring  many  hands. 
Thus  several  hundred  men  are  employed  for  some 
days  in  waiting  upon  the  necessities  of  the  beasts. 

It  is  said  by  those  who  have  seen  them  in  such 
circumstances,  that  the  grief  or  distress  of  the  ele 
phant  is  very  affecting  to  view.  "Their  plaintive 
cries  have  all  the  expression  of  sorrow,  rage,  resent 
ment,  and  despair.  Often,  after  they  are  bound  to 
the  trees  and  stakes  in  the  forest  set  apart  for  their 
reception,  finding  every  effort  ineffectual  even  to  dis 
engage  a  single  limb,  the  hollow  eyes  fill  with  tears, 
and  the  countenance  wears  an  aspect  of  the  deepest 
melancholy." 

And  now  we  come  to  speak  of  the  pearl-fisheries 
of  Ceylon.  The  island  was  at  one  time  celebrated 
for  these,  and  great  numbers  of  people  congregated 
yearly  on  its  northeastern  shore,  off  which  the  pearl 
banks  were  situated.  In  1798  the  rent  alone  of 
the  fisheries  amounted  to  £192,000  sterling,  about 
900,000  dollars.  The  actual  produce  for  that  year 
must  have  amounted  to  several  millions.  From  that 
time  the  banks  grew  luss  profitable  until  1837,  the 
0 


210  STORIES    OP    THE    ISLAND    AVORLD. 

last  year  in  which  oysters  were  taken,  when  the  rents 
were  only  £10,500,  about  50,000  dollars.  Since 
then  the  oyster  banks  have  been  undisturbed. 

When  the  Dutch  first  came  into  possession  of  the 
island  they  paid  much  attention  to  these  fisheries. 
But  for  twenty-eight  years  before  the  first  season 
under  English  auspices  (in  179G),  the  banks  had  been 
entirely  undisturbed.  This  was  in  great  part  ow 
ing  to  the  hostility  of  the  Nabob  of  Arcot,  a  terri 
tory  on  the  neighboring  main  land  of  India,  who 
would  not,  in  consequence,  permit  his  subjects  (who 
are  divers)  to  attend  the  fisheries.  It  is  presumable 
that  to  the  chance  given  to  the  oysters  in  these  years 
of  respite  to  increase  their  numbers  and  fully  devel 
op  their  life,  the  wonderfully  remunerative  seasons 
following  the  re-establishment  of  the  fisheries  were 
in  great  part  owing. 

Condoatchy,  a  deserted  district  along  the  north 
eastern  coast  of  Ceylon,  is  noted  as  the  location  of 
the  pearl-fisheries.  It  is  supposed  that  this  part  of 
the  coast  was  once  populous  and  prosperous.  For 
many  years  it  has  been  desolate  and  uninhabited.  Its 
depopulation  is  ascribed  in  part  to  the  ravages  of 
the  small-pox,  which  disease  is  said  to  have  raged 
with  unusual  violence  along  this  coast ;  but  in  part 
also  to  the  robberies  of  the  Mohammedans  and  Por 
tuguese,  who  at  different  times  overran  the  country. 

The  country  about  Condoatchy  is  level,  sandy, 
and  barren,  the  prospect  being  beautified  by  none  of 
that  luxuriant  vegetation  for  which  other  parts  of 


APPEARANCE  OF  THE  PEARL  OYSTER.    211 

Ceylon  arc  famed.  A  few  cocoa  and  palmyra  trees, 
scattered  here  and  there,  and  surrounding  the  few 
cottages  which  dot  the  plain,  give  rather  a  addi 
tional  force  to  the  air  of  desertion  which  pervade 
the  shore. 

During  the  continuance  of  a  fishing  season,  how 
ever,  the  port  of  Condoatchy,  at  other  times  such  a 
sandy  waste,  suddenly  assumes  the  air  of  a  populous 
town  or  city,  some  of  its  temporary  streets  extending 
a  mile  from  the  shore ;  and  to  this  town  natives  of 
all  parts  of  the  Orient,  representatives  of  every  por 
tion  of  India,  Thibet,  China,  Persia,  and  Arabia,  con 
gregate,  all  animated  by  a  hope  of  making  good  spec 
ulations,  and  increasing  their  store  of  wealth.  Thus 
the  scene  about  Condoatchy,  during  a  fishing  sea 
son,  was  probably  as  busy  and  cheering  as  could  be 
witnessed. 

The  shape  of  a  pearl  oyster  is  nearly  that  of  a 
common  oyster.  The  outside  of  the  shell  is  smooth. 
The  inside  is  of  a  beautiful  shining  white.  From 
this  inside  is  taken  much  of  the  mother-of-pearl  so 
much  used  for  buttons  and  for  ornamental  purposes. 
The  oyster  itself  is  white  and  tough.  It  is  not  gen 
erally  eaten,  although  the  poorer  classes  of  natives 
have  been  sometimes  seen  to  devour  those  opened 
fresh  and  thrown  away  by  the  pearl-hunters. 

The  pearls  are  most  generally  found  in  the  thick 
est  and  most  fleshy  part  of  the  oyster,  near  the  hinge. 
One  oyster  generally  contains  several  pearls.  Ono 
has  been  known  to  produce  one  hundred  and  fifty 


212  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

pearls;  but,  on  the  contrary,  one  hundred  oysters 
may  be  opened  in  succession  from  an  average  lot, 
without  finding  in  all  one  pearl  large  enough  to  be 
discernible  before  the  flesh  has  rotted. 

It  is  stated  by  those  who  have  paid  attention  to 
the  matter,  that  the  pearl  oyster  attains  its  full 
growth  at  the  age  of  seven  or  eight  years.  After 
that  it  soon  dies,  and,  its  shell  opening,  the  contents 
are  washed  away  by  the  waves. 

An  oyster  at  one  year  old  is  not  larger  than  the 
nail  of  a  man's  thumb.  At  maturity  it  is  as  large 
as  the  palm  of  the  hand.  Between  the  ages  of  three 
and  five  years  the  small  and  comparatively  value 
less  tool  or  seed  pearls  only  are  found  in  the  oyster. 
After  that  time  the  pearls  rapidly  increase  in  size, 
till,  at  the  seventh  year,  the  oyster  has  reached  its 
prime. 

It  has  been  found  impracticable  to  transplant  this 
species  of  oyster.  Those  taken  from  the  fishing- 
banks  of  Ceylon  have  never  prospered  elsewhere. 

The  banks  or  beds  are  scattered  over  the  bottom 
of  the  Gulf  of  Manaar  for  a  space  of  thirty  miles 
from  north  to  south,  and  twenty-four  from  east  to 
west.  In  1804  there  were  fourteen  beds.  These 
were,  however,  alternately  worked,  in  order  that  some 
might  be  in  readiness  each  year.  Thus  only  two  or 
three  beds  at  farthest  were  used  at  any  one  fishing. 
The  largest  bank  is  ten  miles  long  by  two  in  width. 
The  others  are  much  smaller.  The  depth  of  the 
water  varies  from  three  to  fifteen  fathoms — that  is, 


PREPARATIONS    FOR    PEARL    FISHING-  213 

from  eighteen  to  ninety  feet.  But  the  best  fishinj:- 
ground  is  generally  found  in  six  to  eight  fathoms 
water. 

About  the  end  of  October,  in  the  year  preced 
ing  a  pearl-fishery,  when  a  short  interval  of  tine 
weather  prevails  between  the  breaking  up  of  the 
southwest  and  the  setting  in  of  the  northeast  mon 
soon,  an  examination  of  the  banks  takes  place.  In 
this  service  nine  boats  arc  employed,  each  of  which 
is  manned  by  one  pilot,  or  arripanaar,  two  divers, 
and  about  eight  sailors.  The  English  superintend 
ent,  or  inspector  of  banks,  takes  his  station  in  the 
boat  of  the  head  arripanaar,  who  has  exercised  this 
profession  from  his  infancy,  and  received  it,  like  al 
most  all  occupations  in  India,  in  hereditary  succes 
sion  from  his  father.  The  boats  repair  in  a  body  to 
each  bank,  and  having,  by  frequent  diving,  ascertain 
ed  its  situation,  take  from  it  one  or  two  thousand 
oysters  as  specimens.  These  are  opened,  and  the 
pearls  taken  from  them  carefully  collected,  sorted, 
and  valued.  If  the  produce  of  one  thousand  oysters 
be  worth  three  pounds  sterling  (fifteen  dollars),  a 
good  fishery  may  be  expected. 

When  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  pearls  gath 
ered  betoken  a  prosperous  fishing  season,  notice  is 
given,  in  the  English  and  Malabar  languages,  to  all 
divers  and  owners  of  boats  fit  for  and  desiring  em 
ployment,  to  repair  to  the  Bay  of  Coudoatchy  on  the 
20th  of  February,  this  being  the  time  at  which  oper 
ations  must  be  commenced.  The  pearl  banks  \vi-n-, 


214  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

and  I  suppose  are,  held  by  the  ruling  government. 
The  fisheries  were  at  times  conducted  by  men  in  the 
employ  and  pay  of  the  government.  At  other  times 
the  privilege  of  fishing  was  farmed  out  to  many  pri 
vate  individuals.  But  the  most  usual  method  was 
to  sell  to  one  person  the  privilege  of  using  the  fish 
ery  with  a  certain  number  of  boats  for  a  certain 
number  of  days,  they  taking  all  the  responsibility, 
and  again  sub-letting  to  various  individuals. 

The  boats,  with  their  crews  and  divers,  come  from 
Manaar,  Jaffna,  Ramisseram,  Nagore,  Tutakoreen, 
Travancore,  Kilkerry,  and  other  ports  on  the  coast 
of  Coromandel.  William,  do  you  know  where  the 
Coromandel  coast  is? 

William.  It  is  on  the  southeastern  shore  of  Hin- 
dostan. 

George.  Albert,  what  two  large  cities  lie  on  the 
Coromandel  coast? 

Albert.  Madras  and  Pondichery,  I  think. 

George.  That  is  correct.  The  places  I  have  named 
above  are  small  villages  on  the  coast,  most  of  which 
are  of  so  little  importance  as  not  to  be  marked  on 
the  map. 

The  boats  used  in  the  pearl-fisheries  are  of  about 
one  ton  burden,  forty-five  feet  long,  seven  to  eight 
broad,  and  three  feet  deep.  They  are  without  deck, 
have  one  mast  and  sail,  and  are  of  very  light  draft. 
The  crew  numbers  twenty-five  persons,  divided  as 
follows :  ten  divers ;  ten  munducs,  who  attend  upon 
the  lowering  apparatus,  and  haul  up  the  divers, 


HOW  THE  BANKS  ARE  SURVEYED.      215 

stones,  and  baskets ;  one  titulal,  or  pilot ;  one  steers 
man  ;  a  man  to  take  care  of  the  boat ;  a  boy  to  bail 
the  water  out ;  and  a  man  placed  on  board  by  the 
ivnter  to  guard  against  fraud  on  the  part  of  the  crew. 
As  the  fishing-boats  arrive  at  Condoatchy,  they  aiv. 
numbered,  and  a  description  of  boat  and  crew  is  en 
tered  in  a  book  kept  for  that  purpose. 

A  few  days  before  the  commencement  of  the  fish 
ery,  a  last  survey  of  the  banks  is  made.  Buoys  are 
now  laid  down  to  show  where  the  oysters  arc  found 
iii  the  greatest  quantities.  A  boat  is  moored  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  the  centre  of  the  scene  of  oper 
ations.  The  pilot  boats  examine  the  bottom  in  a 
circle  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  from  this  boat,  and  place 
a  buoy  wherever  a  spot  is  found  particularly  rich  in 
oysters.  The  buoys  are  triangularly-shaped  rafts  of 
wood,  moored  by  a  wooden  anchor  with  large  stones 
tied  to  it.  Flags  of  various  colors  are  displayed 
upon  these  buoys,  and,  by  reference  to  a  book  kept 
on  shore  for  that  purpose,  fishers  are  enabled  to  as 
certain  the  size,  age,  and  quality  of  oysters  found 
near  each  flag  and  buoy. 

These  are  the  preliminary  labors  on  the  banks. 
Let  us  now  take  a  look  at  the  shore.  Square  in- 
closures  are  erected  along  the  beach  for  the  purpose 
of  receiving  the  oysters.  These  are  the  only  per 
manent  structures  on  the  ground.  Previous  to  the 
assemblage  of  the  fishers  and  traders  all  is  desolate ; 
but  hi  a  few  days  thereafter  the  scene  is  marvelously 
changed.  Three  hundred  fishing-boats  have  arrived  ; 


216  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

and  three  hundred  other  small  vessels  now  lie  at 
anchor  in  the  bay,  forming  a  close  lino  parallel  to 
and  at  an  inconsiderable  distance  from  the  shore. 
Merchants,  speculators,  pawnbrokers,  jugglers,  all 
are  gathered,  and  the  desert  is  enlivened  with  their 
wrangling,  and  shouting,  and  chaffering. 

Each  man  or  family — for  many  bring  with  them 
their  wives  and  children  to  witness  the  great  fair — 
each  one  brings  along  the  material  for  constructing 
and  furnishing  a  dwelling :  sticks,  mats,  pieces  of 
many-colored  cotton  cloth,  rice  straw,  cocoanut  and 
palmyra  leaves  ;  and  the  hut,  neither  wind-tight  nor 
water-tight,  is  raised  with  little  trouble.  In  two 
days  the  desert  has  become  a  town.  Streets  are  reg 
ularly  laid  out,  and  extend  some  distance  up  from 
the  beach.  Booths,  for  the  sale  of  provisions  and 
other  commodities,  are  seen  on  all  hands.  Priests 
offer  up  prayers  and  sacrifices  to  their  idols;  and 
jugglers  and  serpent-charmers  perform  their  tricks, 
astonishing  strangers  and  delighting  little  children. 

I  told  you  that  most  generally  the  government 
rented  the  fisheries  to  one  man  for  a  certain  sum,  he 
sub-letting  to  others.  In  1804,  a  native  of  Jaifna- 
patam  obtained  for  £120,000  sterling  (600,000  dol 
lars)  the  privilege  to  fish  with  one  hundred  and  fifty 
boats  for  thirty  days.  As  there  were  more  boats  on 
hand  than  the  stipulated  number,  and  as  the  season 
was  but  short,  it  was  permitted  to  fish  with  a  great 
er  number  than  one  hundred  and  fifty,  sometimes  as 
high  as  three  hundred  going  out.  These  were  reck- 


A    DAY    ON    THE    1'EAltL    BANKS.  217 

oncd  in  proportion,  three  hundred  boats  for  one  day 
being  counted  as  two  full  days'  fishing.  These  boats 
come  from  the  main  land  of  India.  None  of  the 
Cingalese  are  divers,  and  they  but  seldom  engage  in 
any  capacity  in  the  boats.  As  a  nation  these  peo 
ple  are  timid,  and  make  but  poor  warriors  or  sailors. 
We  have  now  seen  all  the  preparations  made. 
AVliun  all  is  ready  the  fishing  is  commenced.  As 
soon  as  the  land-wind  sets  in,  the  boatmen  are 
aroused  by  the  firing  of  a  cannon  and  the  sound  of 
horns  and  drums.  This  happens  generally  about 
midnight.  All  is  soon  noise  and  confusion.  Six 
thousand  people  arc  being  collected  and  embarked ; 
three  hundred  boats  are  got  under  weigh,  and  steer 
with  full  sail  toward  the  distant  banks.  In  the  dark 
the  confusion  is,  of  course,  greatly  increased,  and  a 
din  as  of  Bedlam  broken  loose  pervades  the  camp  till 
the  fishers  are  gone.  Numerous  incantations  and 
ablutions,  enjoined  by  their  superstition  or  their  re 
ligion,  unavoidably  increase  the  uproar,  and  cause 
delay  in  getting  under  weigh.  The  shark-charmer  is 
duly  propitiated ;  the  talisman  which  is  to  guard  the 
diver  against  all  danger  for  the  day,  and  secure  him 
a  profitable  return  for  his  labor,  is  unfailingly  adored ; 
the  purifications  enjoined  by  his  religion  are  hastily 
gone  through  with ;  and,  finally,  in  less  time  than 
one  would  think  it  possible  under  the  circumstances, 
the  fleet  is  under  weigh.  On  reaching  the  ground, 
they  drop  anchor  till  dawn.  At  sunrise  each  chooses 
a  berth,  and  again  drops  anchor.  As  soon  us  the 


218  STOIUES    OF    THE   ISLA.ND    WORLD. 

sun  gives  out  a  little  warmth — between  half  past 
six  and  seven — the  diving  commences. 

"  A  kind  of  open  scaffolding,  formed  of  oars  and 
other  pieces  of  wood,  is  projected  from  each  side  of 
the  boat,  and  from  it  the  diving-tackle  is  suspended, 
three  stones  on  one  side,  and  two  on  the  other.  The 
diving-stone  hangs  from  an  oar  by  a  light  rope,  and 
is  lowered  about  five  feet  into  the  water.  It  is  a 
stone  of  fifty-six  pounds'  weight,  of  the  shape  of  a 
sugar-loaf.  Above  the  stone  the  rope  has  a  loop  re 
sembling  a  stirrup-iron :  this  receives  the  foot  of  the 
diver. 

"  The  diver  wears  no  clothes  except  a  slip  of  calico 
about  his  loins.  Swimming  in  the  water,  he  takes 
hold  of  the  rope,  and  puts  one  foot  into  the  loop  or 
stirrup  on  the  top  of  the  stone.  Pie  remains  in  this 
perpendicular  position  for  a  little  time,  supporting 
himself  by  the  motion  of  one  arm.  Then  a  basket, 
formed  of  a  wooden  hoop  and  net-work,  suspended 
by  a  rope,  is  thrown  into  the  water  to  him,  and  into 
it  he  places  his  other  foot.  The  ropes  connected 
with  the  basket  and  stone  he  gathers  for  a  little  in 
his  hand.  When  properly  prepared,  he  grasps  his 
nostrils  with  one  hand  to  prevent  the  water  from 
rushing  in,  and  with  the  other  gives  a  sudden  jerk 
to  a  running  knot  which  suspends  the  stone.  The 
remainder  of  the  rope  fixed  to  the  basket  is  thrown 
into  the  water  after  him  at  the  same  moment ;  the 
rope  attached  to  the  stone  has  been  so  arranged  as 
to  run  out  of  itself. 


DIVING    FOR   PEARLS.  219 

"  As  soon  as  the  diver  touches  bottom  (from  forty 
to  ninety  feet  down),  he  disengages  his  foot  from  the 
stone,  which  is  immediately  drawn  up  and  suspend 
ed  again  to  the  projecting  oar,  in  readiness  for  the 
next  diver.  The  diver  at  the  bottom  meantime 
throws  himself  as  much  as  possible  upon  his  face, 
and  puts  every  thing  he  can  get  hold  of  into  the 
basket.  When  he  is  ready  to  ascend,  he  gives  a  jerk 
to  the  rope,  and  the  munduc,  who  holds  the  other 
end  of  it,  hauls  it  up  as  speedily  as  possible.  The 
diver,  at  the  same  time,  free  of  every  incumbrance, 
warps  up  by  the  rope,  and  always  gets  to  the  top 
some  time  before  the  basket.  He  comes  up  at  a  dis 
tance  from  the  boat,  and  swims  about,  or  takes  hold 
of  an  oar  or  rope  until  his  turn  comes  to  descend 
again.  He  seldom  comes  into  the  boat  until  the 
labor  of  the  day  is  over.  The  basket  is  often  ex 
tremely  heavy,  and  requires  several  men  to  haul  it 
up.  Besides  oysters,  it  may  contain  pieces  of  rock, 
trees  of  coral,  and  other  marine  productions." 

It  has  been  stated  that  divers  sometimes  remain 
at  the  bottom  half  an  hour.  liev.  Mr.  Cordiner,  who 
writes  from  personal  observation,  states  that  a  diver 
is  never  more  than  two  minutes  below  the  surface ; 
and  his  observations,  made  upon  divers  in  seven 
fathoms  water  (the  average  depth  of  the  banks), 
gave  one  minute  and  twenty  seconds  at  the  bottom 
as  a  high  average. 

Where  a  bank  is  well  stocked,  the  diver  puts  into 
his  basket  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 


220  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

oysters.  When  the  oysters  are  scarce,  he  as  fre 
quently  gets  no  more  than  five.  There  are  two 
divers  for  each  stone.  They  go  down  alternately, 
one  resting  while  the  other  is  at  the  bottom.  About 
six  hours  constitute  a  day's  work.  The  divers  do 
not  speak  of  their  labor  as  fatiguing.  It  is  only 
when  they  have  fallen  upon  a  poor  bank  that  they 
grumble.  When  they  return  to  the  surface  after  a 
dive,  a  small  quantity  of  blood  usually  issues  from 
their  nose  and  ears.  This  is  thought  a  favorable 
symptom.  They  think  themselves  enabled  to  work 
with  more  ease  and  comfort  after  the  bleeding  has 
begun. 

When  three  hundred  boats  are  upon  the  ground, 
probably  fifteen  hundred  divers  descend  every  min 
ute.  It  is  said  the  noise  of  the  plunging  is  uninter 
rupted,  and  resembles  the  dashing  of  a  waterfall. 

The  divers  stand  in  great  fear  of  sharks.  These 
fish  are  frequently  seen  from  the  boats ;  but  they 
seldom  injure  a  man.  Nevertheless,  a  shark-charm 
er  is  thought  an  indispensable  person  at  the  fishery. 
This  office  has  been  carefully  preserved  in  a  certain 
family,  and  it  is  believed  by  the  natives  that  in  them 
alone  lies  the  power  to  grant  protection  against  their 
enemy.  No  diver  would  descend  to  the  bottom  if 
he  knew  that  there  was  not  a  charmer  in  the  fleet. 
Two  of  them  work  together.  One  goes  with  the 
fleet  daily  in  the  head  pilot's  boat;  the  other  re 
mains  on  the  shore.  He  shuts  himself  up  in  a  room 
where  no  one  has  access  to  him.  He  strips  himself, 


SHARK -C1IVKMI  1>.  221 

and,  with  various  gesticulations,  mumbles  over  a 
numl>er  of  prayers.  lie  has  before  him  a  bowl  or 
l»n>in  full  of  water.  In  this  are  two  fish,  a  male  and 
a  female,  made  of  silver.  Should  an  accident  hap 
pen  in  the  fleet,  it  is  believed  that  one  of  these  fish 
will  be  seen  to  bite  the  other.  It  is  thought,  too, 
that  if  the  shark-charmer  is  dissatisfied,  or  if  any  one 
gives  him  offense,  he  has  the  power  to  cause  sharks 
to  attack  the  objects  of  his  displeasure.  Abundance 
of  presents  are  therefore  made  him. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  conjuring,  however,  acci 
dents  do  occasionally  occur.  It  is  related  that  upon 
one  occasion,  when  a  shark  had  bitten  off  a  diver's 
leg,  the  head  conjurer  was  called  to  account  for  the 
misfortune.  He  replied  that  an  old  witch  had  just 
come  from  the  Malabar  coast,  who,  from  envy  and 
malice,  had  caused  this  disaster  by  means  of  a  coun 
ter-conjuration,  which  made  fruitless  his  skill.  He 
stated  that  he  had  been  informed  of  this  too  late ; 
but  insisted  that  he  showed  his  superiority  afterward 
by  enchanting  the  sharks  so  effectually  as  that, 
though  seen  by  many  divers,  they  were  henceforth 
unable  to  open  their  mouths.  As  there  were  no  more 
accidents  during  the  continuance  of  the  fishery,  of 
course  the  credulous  natives  gave  their  shark-en 
chanter  credit  for  great  skill,  and  praised  him  for  a 
victory  over  his  antagonist,  the  old  witch. 

Upon  the  setting  in  of  the  sea-breeze,  a  signal  is 
hoisted  by  the  head  pilot,  and  the  fleet  make  sail  for 
shore.  They  leave  the  banks  between  one  and  two 


222  STORIES   OP   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

o'clock  P.M.,  and  arrive  at  the  beach  generally  be 
tween  four  and  five.  Those  on  shore  eagerly  watch 
for  the  return  of  the  fishers.  With  the  appearance 
of  the  first  boat,  all  the  shoremen  who  have  leisure 
run  down  to  the  beach  to  welcome  their  friends  back. 

And  now  comes  what  seems  to  the  uninitiated  the 
most  difficult  and  laborious  duty  of  all — that  of  di 
viding  the  gains  of  the  day  among  those  who  have 
been  engaged  in  its  labors.  For  you  must  know  that 
the  divers  and  the  boat-owners  work  for  shares,  and 
that  every  species  of  labor  directly  connected  with 
the  fishery  is  paid  for  with  a  share  of  the  oysters. 
When  you  consider  that  on  many  occasions  more 
than  two  millions  of  oysters  have  been  brought 
ashore  in  one  day,  you  will  be  surprised  to  learn  that 
this  great  quantity  is  all  counted  and  apportioned 
in  less  than  half  an  hour  after  the  landing  of  the 
boats. 

In  the  first  place,  it  is  necessary  to  tell  you  that 
each  diver  keeps  his  oysters  in  a  separate  net  or  box. 
There  are  thus  ten  parcels  in  each  boat.  As  soon 
as  the  boat  strikes  the  sand,  the  diver  takes  his  load 
upon  his  back,  and  carries  it  into  the  inclosure  be 
longing  to  his  boat.  Here  he  counts  his  catch  into 
four  heaps,  as  nearly  alike  as  may  be,  and  a  person, 
appointed  on  the  part  of  the  renter  of  the  fisheries, 
comes  and  points  out  one  of  these  heaps  as  the  diver's 
share.  With  this  he  immediately  departs. 

But  he  is  subjected  to  a  multitude  of  exactions, 
which  reduce  his  fourth  by  nearly  half  before  he  is 


THE    DIVERS.  223 

able  to  lay  it  before  the  mm-hanf,  who  stands,  money 
in  hand,  to  purchase  it  of  him.  The  mnnduc*,  the 
men  who  haul  up  the  divers,  claim  one  sixth  of  each 
man's  share.  Each  of  the  other  four  men,  who  com 
plete  the  boat's  crew,  receives  two  oysters  from  each 
diver.  The  renter's  accountant  is  allowed  ten.  Two 
overseers  of  the  government  receive  ten  each.  The 
two  shark-charmers  are  allowed  ten  oysters.  And 
the  two  pagodas  of  Ramisseram  and  Nagore  have 
ten  oysters  each. 

When  all  these  persons  have  taken  their  share 
from  his  little  pile,  the  contented  diver  walks  off  to 
the  bazar,  and  exchanges  his  net  share  for  money. 
Many  merchants  attend  and  buy  the  oysters  as  a 
regular  business.  But  almost  every  person  on  the 
grounds  speculates  on  a  small  scale,  laying  out  each 
day  a  small  sum,  in  hopes  that,  by  some  fortunate 
accident,  he  may  find  among  his  purchases  a  valu 
able  pearl. 

The  divers  labor  only  six  days  in  the  week.  Most 
of  them  come  from  a  part  of  the  country  which  has 
long  enjoyed  the  labors  of  Portuguese  Roman  Cath 
olic  missionaries.  They  are,  in  general,  members  of 
the  Roman  Church,  and  do  not,  therefore,  labor  on 
the  Sabbath.  The  constant  and  severe  toil  of  the 
week  makes  a  day  of  rest  very  welcome  to  them. 
The  only  rest  they  have  during  the  week  is  from  the 
time  they  dispose  of  their  oysters  till  twelve  o'clock 
at  night,  perhaps  six  hours.  Sometimes  they  are 
able  to  sleep  on  the  passage  from  the  anchorage  to 


224  STORIES    OP   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

the  banks ;  but  during  a  calm  they  are  obliged  to 
labor  at  the  oars  with  the  balance  of  the  crew. 

In  poor  fishing  seasons  the  divers  make  scarcely 
sufficient  to  provide  for  their  daily  wants ;  but  in  a 
good  season,  notwithstanding  the  many  exactions 
they  are  exposed  to,  they  are  able  to  save  from  fifty 
to  one  hundred  dollars  for  the  use  of  their  families. 
There  is,  however,  considerable  difference  in  their 
earnings  one  day  with  another.  One  boat  has  been 
known  to  bring  to  land  in  one  day  thirty-three  thou 
sand  oysters,  and  on  the  next  not  more  than  three 
hundred.  The  state  of  the  banks,  the  dexterity  of 
the  divers,  and  skill  in  selecting  a  berth,  all  have  a 
bearing  upon  the  success  of  the  labor. 

The  boat-owner  receives  for  his  share  the  shares 
of  all  the  divers,  without  drawback,  every  sixth  day. 
Each  pilot's  boat  is  allowed  to  carry  one  stone  and 
two  divers ;  but,  as  the  duties  of  the  pilot  keep  his 
boat  much  under  weigh,  he  does  not  profit  greatly  by 
this  permission. 

We  will  now  hear  how  the  oysters  are  treated 
after  they  are  fairly  landed  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  those  who  seek  the  pearls  contained  in  them. 
Those  who  trade  only  in  a  small  way  open  their 
oysters  at  the  time  they  make  their  purchases,  or,  at 
farthest,  the  following  morning.  The  larger  pearls 
are  extracted  from  the  flesh  of  the  oyster  by  means 
of  a  sharp-pointed  knife  used  to  open  the  shells. 
The  flesh  is  generally  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
When  dried,  and  mouldering  away,  the  smaller  and 
seed  pearls  can  be  easily  gotten  out. 


HOW    THE    PEARLS    ARE    SEPARATED.  225 

The  oysters  belonging  to  the  renter  are  piled  up 
in  large  heaps  within  the  inclosures.  A  close  watch 
is  kept  upon  them  to  protect  them  from  the  depre 
dations  of  thieves.  The  heaps  are  undisturbed  for 
ten  days.  In  this  time  the  flesh  of  the  oysters  has 
grown  putrid.  A  quantity  are  then  thrown  into  a 
canoe,  fifteen  feet  long  by  three  feet  wide  and  deep. 
This  canoe  is  filled  with  clean  salt  water.  The  oys 
ters  soak  in  this  for  twelve  hours.  This  disengages 
the  putrid  substance,  and  also  carries  to  the  surface 
the  maggots  with  which  the  shells  are  half  filled. 
When  these  are  skimmed  off,  twelve  coolies,  or  la 
borers,  are  ranged  about  the  sides  of  the  vessel  to 
search  for  pearls. 

One  end  of  the  canoe  is  inclined  sufficiently  to  al 
low  the  water  to  run  gradually  out.  The  oysters 
are  taken  up  one  by  one,  and  the  shells  broken  from 
one  another  and  washed.  This  portion  of  the  labor 
is  excessively  nauseating  to  those  who  are  not  ac 
customed  to  it ;  but  the  natives,  who  make  it  their 
business,  pay  no  attention  to  the  stench.  Some  shells 
are  found  which  have  pearls  adhering  to  them.  These 
are  handed  to  clippers,  whose  business  it  is  to  cleave 
the  pearls  from  the  shells  with  a  forceps  and  ham 
mer.  Pearls  which  are  found  thus  fast  to  the  shell 
are  imperfect  in  shape,  and  do  not  bring  as  high  a 
price  as  others  of  the  same  size.  They  are  used 
chiefly  as  settings  for  jewelry  where  the  defective 
side  can  be  concealed. 

When  the  shells  are  thrown  out,  a  slimy,  putres- 
P 


226  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

cent  substance,  mixed  with  fine  sand,  remains  in  the 
bottom  of  the  canoe.  The  water  is  now  changed, 
and  the  sediment  stirred.  The  pearls  sink  to  the 
bottom,  and  are  caught  in  small,  transverse  ridges, 
placed  there  for  that  purpose.  The  water,  when 
taken  out,  is  carefully  strained  through  canvas  sacks, 
in  order  that  no  pearls  may  be  lost.  When  the  wa 
ter  is  all  out,  the  large  pearls  may  be  seen  on  the 
bottom.  These  are  taken  out,  and  the  slime  and 
dirt  is  then  carefully  spread  on  cloths  or  mats,  where 
it  is  permitted  to  dry  in  the  sun.  After  the  sand  is 
dry,  many  hands  are  employed  to  sift  it  and  pick 
out  the  pearls.  Women  are  generally  engaged  to 
do  this  work.  The  larger  pearls  are  easily  distin 
guished  ;  but  it  is  a  labor  requiring  much  care  and 
patience  to  secure  the  more  diminutive.  Many  of 
these  are  less  in  size  than  the  head  of  a  small  pin. 

Notwithstanding  the  care  used  in  sifting  and  ex 
amining  the  sand,  many  pearls  of  value  are  unavoid 
ably  overlooked,  and  lost  in  the  sand  which  forms 
the  soil  about  Condoatchy.  But  a  portion  even  of 
these  are  again  recovered  by  men  who  rent  of  gov 
ernment  the  privilege  of  examining  the  grounds  aft 
er  the  fisheries  are  over. 

When  the  pearls  are  separated  from  the  sand, 
they  are  washed  with  salt  water  and  dried.  Next 
comes  the  process  by  which  they  are  sorted.  Ten 
brass  sieves  or  saucers  are  used  for  this  purpose. 
The  holes  on  the  bottoms  of  these  saucers  are  of  a 
different  size  in  each.  The  saucers  are  distinguished 


•M>K11N«.     I'KAKLS.  227 

by  number :  20,  30,  50,  80, 100,  200,  400,  600,  800, 
and  1000.  Number  20  has,  of  course,  the  largest 
holes,  and  number  1000  the  smallest.  They  are 
ranged  one  above  another  on  a  stand,  20  being  the 
uppermost.  The  pearls  are  then  thrown  into  the 
upper  saucer.  It  is  shaken  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
let  those  pearls  which  go  through  fall  into  the  saucer 
below.  Those  only  which  are  larger  than  a  large 
pea  will  remain  in  the  upper  saucer. 

The  same  process  is  now  repeated  with  the  second 
saucer  or  sieve.  The  pearls  that  remain  in  it  are 
of  the  size  of  a  small  pea,  or  of  a  grain  of  black  pep 
per.  The  pearls  grow  more  numerous  as  the  holes 
become  smaller.  In  the  first  two  saucers  but  few 
remain.  Those  which  are  not  even  caught  by  the 
tenth  sieve,  number  1000,  are  called  tool  or  seed 
pearls.  Rev.  Mr.  Cordiner  states  that  the  pearls  ob 
tained  from  seventeen  thousand  oysters  weighed  but 
three  quarters  of  a  pound,  and  were  contained  in  a 
vessel  smaller  than  a  soup-plate ;  and  out  of  that 
quantity  there  were  not  found  two  perfect  pearls,  ei 
ther  of  the  first  or  second  class.  "  About  twenty 
or  thirty  pearls  remained  in  these  two  saucers,  but 
almost  all  of  them  were  deformed,  rugged,  or  un 
even.  Of  the  smaller  sizes,  many  were  round  and 
perfect." 

Of  course,  the  pearls  have  very  different  values, 
according  as  they  are  more  or  less  brilliant  and  per 
fect  in  shape.  But  at  the  fisheries  they  are  gen 
erally  sold  in  the  lump — that  is,  all  together.  The 


228  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

common  price  in  former  times  was  about  two  hund 
red  pagodas,  or  about  four  hundred  dollars  per 
pound. 

Picked,  washed,  and  sorted,  the  pearls  have  yet 
another  important  operation  to  undergo  before  they 
are  ready  for  market.  They  are  to  have  small  holes 
drilled  in  them ;  else  they  could  never  be  strung  upon 
a  thread  to  adorn  the  neck  of  beauty.  This  drilling 
is  generally  performed  upon  the  ground,  before  the 
pearls  come  regularly  into  trade.  The  men  who 
make  it  their  business  are  very  dexterous,  and,  al 
though  possessed  only  of  the  rudest  machinery,  are 
able  to  perforate  three  hundred  small  or  six  hund 
red  large  pearls  in  a  day. 

The  instrument  used  for  this  purpose  is  thus  de 
scribed:  A  block  of  wood,  of  the  form  of  an  in 
verted  cone,  is  raised,  upon  three  legs,  about  twelve 
inches  from  the  floor.  Small  holes,  or  pits  of  vari 
ous  sizes,  are  cut  in  the  upper  flat  surface  for  the 
reception  of  the  pearls.  The  driller  sits  on  his 
haunches  close  to  this  machine.  The  pearls  are 
driven  steadily  into  their  sockets  by  a  piece  of  iron, 
with  flat  sides,  about  one  inch  and  a  half  in  length. 

A  well-tempered  needle  is  fixed  in  a  reed  five 
inches  long,  with  an  iron  point  in  the  other  end, 
formed  to  play  in  the  socket  of  a  cocoanut  shell, 
which  presses  on  the  forehead  of  the  driller.  A  bow 
is  formed  of  a  piece  of  bamboo  and  a  string.  The 
workman  brings  his  right  knee  in  a  line  with  the 
machine,  and  places  on  it  a  small  cup,  formed  of 


DRILLING    THE    PEARLS.  229 

part  of  a  cocoanut  shell,  which  is  filled  with  water, 
to  moderate  the  heat  of  friction.  He  bends  his  head 
over  the  machine,  and,  applying  the  point  of  the 
needle  to  a  pearl  sunk  in  one  of  the  pits,  drills  with 
great  facility,  every  now  and  then  dexterously  dip 
ping  the  little  finger  of  his  right  hand  into  the  wa 
ter,  and  applying  it  to  the  needle,  without  impeding 
the  operation.  The  needle  is  frequently  sharpened 
with  oil  on  a  stone  slab ;  and  sometimes,  before  that 
operation  is  performed,  is  heated  in  the  flame  of  a 
lamp.  The  large  pearls  are  generally  drilled  first,  in 
order  to  give  greater  facility  to  the  hand  in  the  more 
delicate  operation  of  boring  the  smaller  ones.  Pearls 
less  in  size  than  a  grain  of  mustard-seed  are  pierced 
without  difficulty,  so  expert  are  the  workmen. 

When  a  pearl  is  drilled  it  is  immediately  washed 
in  salt  water,  that  contact  with  the  perforating  in 
strument  may  not  stain  it.  When  drilled  and  wash 
ed,  they  are  strung  according  to  size  and  general  ex 
cellence.  This  is  an  operation  requiring  much  skill 
and  judgment. 

This  done,  they  are  ready  for  a  market.  We  read 
that  the  largest  pearls  were  disposed  of  in  India  to 
the  various  wealthy  native  potentates.  Those  most 
suitable  for  necklaces  are  sent  to  Europe.  The 
smaller  pearls  are  in  greatest  demand  in  Russia, 
France,  Germany,  and  England.  Pearls  of  a  yellow 
cast  are  sent  to  Hydrabad,  Poona,  Guzerat,  and  My 
sore,  where  they  are  esteemed  above  those  of  a  fairer 
tinge.  China,  where  the  more  valuable  kinds  can 


230  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

not  be  disposed  of,  is  found  a  profitable  market  for 
the  smaller  and  less  valuable.  These  are  reduced 
to  powder  by  the  Chinese,  and  eaten  with  chunam. 

Most  pearls  are  of  a  shining  white.  They  are 
sometimes,  however,  found  of  a  beautiful  pink,  while 
a  few  have  been  seen  which  were  of  a  bright  gold 
color,  and  others  jet  black. 

Albert.  You  spoke  of  jugglers  exhibiting  their 
tricks  to  the  people  at  the  fisheries.  Can't  you  tell 
us  what  the  tricks  are? 

George.  I  will  tell  you  of  some  of  them,  which  I 
have  read,  and  in  part  seen  myself.  Here  is  one: 
A  man  sits  on  the  ground  with  no  other  clothing 
than  a  piece  of  muslin  about  his  waist.  He  twirls 
a  large  iron  ring  on  each  great  toe  ;  bends  backward, 
and  keeps  with  his  hands  four  hollow  brass  balls  in 
a  circular  motion  in  the  air,  making  them  pass  in 
their  course  between  his  legs,  which  are  likewise  con 
stantly  moving  one  over  the  other ;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  threads  a  quantity  of  small  beads  with  his 
mouth,  without  any  assistance  from  his  hands. 

Another  has  a  snake  a  foot  long,  which  he  coils 
beneath  a  large  cup.  While  all  are  watching  the 
cup  to  see  that  the  snake  is  not  taken  out,  he  draws 
it  out  of  his  mouth.  On  raising  the  cup  the  snake 
is  not  found.  This  trick  I  have  seen,  and  also  the 
following :  The  juggler  shows  a  piece  of  iron  two  feet 
long,  with  blunt  edges  and  rounded  point.  Moisten 
ing  this  with  his  lips,  he  throws  back  his  head  so  as  to 
bring  his  mouth  and  throat  into  a  straight  line,  and 


JUGGLERS.  £31 

then  puts  the  iron  down  his  throat  to  a  distance  of 
twenty  inches.  There  is  no  deception  in  this,  as  the 
man  is  naked,  and  will  permit  himself  to  be  exam 
ined.  When  the  iron  is  down,  a  brass  wheel  is  placed 
on  the  point  of  the  handle.  On  the  wheel  are  fixed 
rockets.  He  sets  fire  to  these,  and  as  they  explode, 
the  wheel  whirls  round  with  great  rapidity  in  the 
midst  of  flame,  smoke,  and  noise,  he  meantime  hold 
ing  the  iron  steadily  in  his  hands.  The  men  who 
perform  this  strange  feat  are  trained  to  it  from 
youth,  and  their  throats  are  callous.  They  seem  to 
feel  no  uneasiness  from  the  introduction  of  the  iron. 

A  pole,  forty  feet  high,  was  erected  on  the  ground 
[near  Condoatchy]  ;  a  cross-yard  was  fixed  near  the 
top  of  the  mast,  and  from  one  end  of  this  a  wooden 
anchor  was  suspended  by  a  rope.  A  woman,  in  the 
dress  of  a  sailor,  sprang  up  to  the  yard  by  a  single 
rope.  She  lay  carelessly  on  the  yard  in  a  sleeping 
posture.  She  then  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  mast, 
and,  lying  on  her  stomach  on  the  top,  twirled  round 
like  a  weather-vane.  She  then  descended  to  the  an 
chor,  and  suspended  herself  from  it  first  by  her  chin, 
then,  in  succession,  by  her  feet,  her  toes,  and  her 
heels,  keeping  her  hands  entirely  disengaged.  Fi 
nally,  she  hung  by  her  feet  from  the  yard,  and,  drop 
ping  herself  down,  caught,  in  the  same  position,  on 
the  stock  of  the  anchor. 

Ceylon  is  almost  a  sacred  island  to  the  Buddhists. 
They  pretend  that  Buddha  remained  for  some  time 
in  different  parts  of  it,  and  that  his  final  ascent  to 


232  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

heaven  was  made  from  here.  Adam's  Peak,  a  high 
mountain  on  the  west  coast,  is  visited  by  pilgrims 
from  all  parts  of  India.  In  a  cave,  now  inaccessi 
ble,  it  is  pretended  that  Buddha  dwelt  during  his 
residence  on  the  island.  A  tree  which  formerly 
stood  near  this  cave  is  believed  to  have  flown  over 
from  the  main  land  of  India  and  planted  itself  on 
its  new  site.  The  impress  of  a  gigantic  footstep, 
plainly  discernible  on  a  rock  at  the  top  of  the  Peak, 
is  stated  to  have  been  left  by  Buddha  when  he  as 
cended  to  heaven.  The  print  is  two  feet  long,  and 
said  to  be  perfect.  The  place  where  it  stands  is  ap 
proached  with  some  difficulty,  and  a  long  flight  of 
steps  has  been  hewn  in  the  solid  rock  to  facilitate 
the  ascent  of  pilgrims.  The  entire  peak  is  held  in 
great  veneration  by  devout  worshipers,  and  a  visit 
to  it  is  thought  as  meritorious  as  a  visit  to  Mecca  is 
to  a  Mohammedan. 

Missionary  operations  in  Ceylon  have  met  with 
encouraging  success  since  the  British  have  had  pos 
session  of  the  island.  Francis  Xavier,  now  a  saint 
on  the  Roman  Catholic  calendar,  first  preached  and 
taught  Christianity  in  Ceylon.  His  labors  began 
in  1544.  By  persecution  and  conciliation  many 
converts  were  made,  and  finally  the  entire  province 
of  Jaffna  was  induced  to  abjure  paganism  and  adopt 
Romanism.  "When  the  Dutch  expelled  the  Portu 
guese  in  1656,  these  had  established  a  Jesuit  college 
and  numerous  convents  on  this  part  of  the  coast,  and 
their  form  of  religion  was  supreme  in  the  province. 


MISSIONARY    OPERATIONS.  233 

The  Dutch,  on  taking  possession  of  the  island, 
transported  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  to  India, 
and  in  all  their  actions  showed  themselves  as  hostile 
toward  Romanism  as  toward  paganism.  The  labors 
of  their  reformed  missionaries  were,  from  all  ac 
counts,  extraordinarily  effective  for  a  time. 

"Within  five  years  after  their  arrival  in  the  isl 
and,  12,387  children  had  been  baptized,  18,000  pu 
pils  were  under  instructions  in  the  schools,  and 
65,000  converts  to  Christianity  were  reckoned  in 
the  kingdom  of  Jaffnapatam.  When  the  Dutch 
left  the  island  (in  1795),  the  number  of  professors 
of  Christianity  was  reckoned  as  high  as  420,000." 
A  large  portion  of  these  converts,  however,  knew 
nothing  of  actual  religion.  They  conformed  only  to 
some  extent  to  the  outward  ceremonies  of  Christian 
worship,  and  this,  in  great  part,  because  conversions 
were  encouraged  by  bribery  and  other  means  by  the 
Dutch  authorities.  Thus,  though  the  apparent 
number  was  great,  there  was  exceedingly  little  real 
religion  among  them  ;  and  the  system  of  the  Dutch, 
as  well  as  all  traces  of  their  labors,  have  long  since 
disappeared  from  the  island. 

The  London  Missionary  Society  established  a 
mission  in  Ceylon  in  1804.  Owing  to  formidable 
opposition  on  the  part  of  the  natives,  and  lack  of 
assistance  or  even  countenance  from  the  British  otli- 
cials,  this  was  abandoned,  after  some  years  of  fruit 
less  labor. 

The  English  Baptist  Missionary  Society  began  a 


234:  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

mission  in  1812.  Their  missionaries  have  perse 
vered.  Their  labors  extended,  in  1854,  over  142 
villages  and  11  out-stations.  They  had  483  com 
municants,  34  native  missionary  assistants,  31 
schools,  and  1103  scholars. 

The  American  Board  for  Foreign  Missions  sent 
out,  as  early  as  1815,  five  missionaries.  They  sailed 
from  Boston,  and  arrived  at  Columbo  in  March, 
1816.  They  were  well  received,  and  met  with  a 
good  degree  of  success.  In  1823  they  established  a 
high  school  for  natives.  In  1837,  through  lack  of 
funds  in  the  Board  at  home,  they  were  obliged  to 
give  up  nearly  all  their  schools,  thus  losing  control 
over  nearly  5000  children.  The  deficiency  was 
made  good  the  following  year. 

In  1838  four  presses  were  in  operation,  giving 
employment  to  70  natives  in  the  various  departments 
of  book-making.  In  1842  a  small  paper,  the  Morn 
ing  Star,  was  started,  whose  columns  were  opened 
to  communications  from  heathens  as  well  as  Chris 
tians.  In  1849  a  version  of  the  Bible  was  com 
pleted  in  Tamil,  the  principal  language  of  Ceylon. 
The  whole  number  of  natives  added  to  the  Church 
by  the  labors  of  American  missionaries  up  to  the 
year  1853  was  about  800.  At  that  time  there  were 
in  the  various  stations  395  communicants.  There 
were  77  schools,  83  teachers,  and  3963  pupils. 

In  their  labors  on  the  sea-coasts  the  missionaries 
of  various  societies  have  met  with  reasonable  suc 
cess  ;  but  the  efforts  of  the  Church  of  England  Mis- 


THE    WESLEY  AN    MISSIONS.  235 

sionaries  among  the  Kandians  of  the  interior  were 
long  attended  with  very  few  encouraging  conse 
quences.  In  1818  two  missionaries  established 
themselves  in  Kandy,  the  capital.  For  a  long  time 
they  had  to  contend  with  opposition  from  various 
sources;  but  they  persevered,  and  in  1839  had  13 
schools  and  400  scholars.  In  1853  their  report 
shows  that  they  had  in  the  field  12  missionaries  (two 
of  them  natives),  183  native  assistants,  catechists, 
and  teachers,  362  communicants,  108  schools,  and 
2772  scholars. 

The  missions  in  Ceylon,  under  the  care  of  the 
Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  of  England,  seem  to 
have  met  with  greater  success  than  any  others.  The 
first  missionaries  under  the  auspices  of  this  society 
arrived  on  the  island  in  1814.  They  were  highly 
recommended  to  the  authorities,  were  well  received, 
and  appear  to  have  been  zealous  in  their  labors. 
The  mission  soon  attracted  attention  in  England, 
and  appears  to  have  been  always  very  warmly  cher 
ished.  Part  of  their  work,  that  upon  the  sea-shore, 
was  taken  up  by  the  government  in  1834,  thus  en 
dorsing  the  labors  of  the  missionaries  and  relieving 
its  parent  society  of  a  heavy  expense. 

In  1840  the  AVesleyans  established  a  mission  in 
Kandy.  At  various  times  they  have  been  fortunate 
in  securing  as  converts  influential  Buddhist  priests. 
These,  being  men  of  education  and  intellect,  have 
been  of  great  service  in  proclaiming  the  Gospel  to 
those  whom  they  formerly  taught  to  revere  idle  tra- 


236  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

ditions  and  superstitions.  The  Wesleyan  missions 
have  been  extended  over  all  the  island.  One  of 
their  chief  labors  for  some  years  has  been  to  meet 
in  argument  native  priests  of  influence  and  intelli 
gence,  and  by  reasoning,  and  a  practical  demonstra 
tion  of  the  powerlessness  of  their  charms  and  con 
jurations,  to  open  the  eyes  of  the  listening  people. 

The  present  state  of  religion  among  those  of  the 
Cingalese  who  continue  devoted  to  Buddhism  is  not 
unfavorable  to  the  labors  of  the  missionaries.  The 
great  mass,  it  is  said,  although  Buddhists  by  name, 
are  actually  devil  worshipers.  The  priest  is  the 
great  intercessor  between  men  and  devils ;  his  as 
cendency  over  their  minds  is  complete. 

"Without  the  priest  nothing  can  be  done,"  says 
Kev.  Joseph  Ripon,  in  1851.  "If  a  house  is  to  be 
built,  a  journey  taken,  or  a  child  born,  devils  must 
be  propitiated  and  their  favor  secured.  But  espe 
cially  in  cases  of  sickness,  where  all  ordinary  meth 
ods  of  cure  have  failed,  devil  dances  and  incanta 
tions  are  the  last  resort,  the  poor  deluded  natives 
often  dying  in  the  midst  of  the  ceremonies,  although 
the  priest  has,  perhaps,  offered  a  fowl  in  sacrifice, 
dug  open  graves  and  slept  in  them,  and  fried  eggs 
in  human  skulls,  in  order  to  obtain  the  necessary  in 
fluence  to  perform  the  cure." 

The  missionaries  have  repeatedly  shaken  the  faith 
of  native  assemblies  in  these  priests  by  submitting 
in  public  to  have  all  their  incantations  used  against 
them — of  course,  in  no  case  with  any  injury  to  them- 


MISSIONS.  237 

selves ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the  most  powerful 
means  of  attack  at  present.  Let  us  hope  that  by 
this  and  other  means,  this  beautiful  land  may  be 
soon  brought  under  the  blessed  influences  of  the 
Gospel;  that  a  light  may  break  upon  the  people 
which  shall  cause  them  to  cast  aside  their  supersti 
tion,  and  cleave  to  that  faith  which  is  of  God. 


A.   NEW    ZEALAND    IDOL    HOUSE. 

EVENING  THE  SEVENTH. 

George.  WHAT  do  you  think  the  most  remarkable 
trait  in  the  Cingalese  character,  as  shown  by  trav 
elers  and  residents,  William  ? 

William.  I  think  it  must  be  the  mildness  of  their 
manners.  You  alluded  to  this  several  times  during 
your  story. 

George.  That  is  it.  I  do  not  know  that  the  Kan- 
dians,  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior,  are  so  much 
noted  for  their  inoffensiveness  as  those  who  reside 
on  the  sea-shore.  There  is  about  the  latter  a  soft 
ness  and  impressibility  which  has  doubtless  been  of 
advantage  to  the  missionaries  in  guiding  them  into 
the  true  faith. 

I  think,  by  way  of  contrast,  we  will  devote  this 


NEW    ZEALAND.  239 

evening  to  the  consideration  of  a  people  than  whom 
there  could  be  no  stronger  opposite  to  the  Cingalese. 
The  aborigines  of  New  Zealand  were  doubtless,  be 
fore  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  the  most  be 
nighted  and  savage  race  on  the  earth.  No  ex 
tremes  of  cruelty  and  brutality  but  were  known  to 
them  ;  no  depths  of  meanness  and  treachery  but 
they  were  in  the  daily  practice  of  in  their  continu 
ous  warlike  struggles.  Yet  you  will  see  that  the 
same  Gospel  which  has  taken  hold  on  the  minds  of 
the  mild  Cingalese  and  the  careless  Maddegassy,  has 
also  sufficed  to  reclaim  the  savage  New  Zealander, 
and  turn  him  from  cruel  cannibalism  and  stupid  su 
perstitions  to  the  genial  mercies  of  Christianity. 

The  group  known  to  us  as  New  Zealand  consists 
of  three  principal  islands,  and  a  number  of  smaller 
and  unimportant  islets  scattered  at  various  distances 
from  the  coasts  of  these.  The  chief  islands  are 
named  respectively  North  Island  or  New  Ulster, 
Middle  Island  or  New  Munster,  and  South  Island 
or  New  Leinster.  The  last  is  best  known,  however, 
as  Stewart's  Island.  The  group  lies  between  lati 
tude  34o  22'  and  47°  30'  south,  and  longitude  166° 
and  177°  east.  The  length  of  the  whole  group  is 
stated  at  about  1200  miles,  and  its  area  is  estimated 
at  about  105,115  square  miles. 

The  first  accounts  we  have  of  this  country  were 
given  to  the  world  by  Tasman,  a  celebrated  Dutch 
navigator,  who  discovered  the  island  in  1G42.  It  is 
supposed  that  the  Capitaine  Sieur  de  Gonville  vis- 


240  STORIES  OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

ited  New  Zealand  in  the  year  1503,  but  his  stay 
was  so  short  and  his  description  of  the  country  so 
indefinite  that  no  certainty  exists  upon  the  subject. 
It  was  on  the  13th  of  December,  1642,  that  Tasman 
first  saw  New  Zealand.  After  sailing  along  the 
coast  for  several  days,  the  vessels  entered  a  bay  in 
Cook's  Straits.  Here,  on  attempting  to  hold  com 
munication  between  the  two  vessels  by  means  of  a 
boat,  the  boat's  crew  were  attacked  by  some  natives 
in  canoes,  who  succeeded  in  killing  four  of  the  Dutch 
sailors. 

Tasman  thought  it  probable  that  the  newly-dis 
covered  land  was  part  of  a  vast  continent  connecting 
with  Staten  Land,  and  forming,  according  to  the 
geographies  of  those  days,  a  portion  of  South  Amer 
ica.  In  accordance  with  this  idea,  the  new  land 
was  named  by  Tasman  Staten  Land.  It  was  not 
till  he  started  on  his  second  voyage  of  discovery  that 
it  received  the  name  of  New  Zealand. 

From  this  time  till  the  first  visit  of  Captain  Cook, 
a  period  of  127  years,  it  was  the  received  opinion 
of  geographers  that  New  Zealand  formed  part  of  a 
southern  continent  lying  between  33°  and  64°  of 
south  latitude,  and  with  its  northern  coast  stretch 
ing  across  the  South  Pacific.  If  you  will  look  at 
the  map,  you  will  be  surprised  to  see  how  very  little 
the  people  who  lived  one  hundred  years  ago  knew 
of  the  world. 

Captain  Cook,  the  greatest  discoverer  of  any  age, 
spent  six  months  upon  the  coasts  of  New  Zealand  in 


MANY-COLORED    MEN.  241 

the  years  17G9  and  1770,  and  during  this  period 
circumnavigated  the  islands,  and  succeeded  in  laying 
down  their  positions  on  the  chart  with  correctness, 
thus  dispelling  at  one  blow  the  vague  suppositions 
of  preceding  navigators. 

On  the  8th  of  October,  17G9,  Captain  Cook  first 
cast  anchor  in  New  Zealand,  in  the  Bay  of  Turunga. 
It  was  the  first  time  the  natives  here  had  ever  seen 
a  ship.  They  thought  it  a  bird,  and  much  admired 
the  size  and  beauty  of  its  wings,  as  they  called  the 
sails.  When  a  boat  was  lowered,  they  took  it  to  be 
a  young  bird  yet  without  wings  (sails) ;  but  when 
they  saw  a  number  of  parti-colored  persons  also  is 
suing  from  the  great  bird,  they  concluded  that  this 
must  be  a  house  full  of  divinities  come  to  pay  them 
a  visit. 

Albert.  How  were  Captain  Cook's  men  parti-col 
ored? 

George.  The  natives  wore  very  little  clothing  them 
selves,  and  had  no  idea  of  such  clothes  as  were  worn 
by  Cook's  men.  They  therefore  thought  that  these 
clothes  were  their  skins,  and  were  much  surprised 
to  find  men  of  so  many  different  complexions.  They 
saw  men  with  white  faces  and  hands,  but  with  bright 
red  bodies,  and  blue  or  yellow  legs  ;  while  some  had 
speckled  bodies  and  white  legs,  and  others  yet  were 
blessed  (in  the  opinion  of  the  natives)  with  white 
bodies  and  red  legs. 

Nothing  could  exceed  the  astonishment  of  the  New 
Zealanders,  except,  indeed,  the  ferocity  with  which 

Q 


242  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

they  attacked  the  little  party  of  divinities  that  land 
ed  on  their  shore  in  the  course  of  the  day.  In  self- 
defense,  Cook's  party  was  obliged  to  slay  one  of  the 
leaders  of  the  attacking  party.  He  was  shot.  The 
noise  scared  the  natives.  The  effect  of  the  shot  ter 
rified  them  still  more.  They  attributed  the  death 
of  their  chief  to  a  thunderbolt  from  these  new  gods, 
and  the  report  of  the  musket  was,  of  course,  the 
thunder.  A  desire  for  revenge  seems  to  have  sur 
vived  their  terror ;  but  they  thought  themselves  help 
less  against  divinities  who  could  kill  them  from  a 
distance.  It  was  stated  by  old  men  to  the  first  white 
settlers  that  it  was  at  this  time  believed  even  a  look 
from  a  white  man  would  cause  illness,  and  several 
who  had  been  exposed  to  this  dangerous  influence 
felt  themselves  unwell.  It  was  therefore  considered 
highly  desirable  to  get  rid  of  their  visitors  as  soon  as 
possible. 

On  the  succeeding  day  boats  were  sent  into  vari 
ous  parts  of  the  bay  in  search  of  wood  and  water. 
One  of  these  boats  came  suddenly  upon  a  native  fish 
ing-boat.  The  fishermen  immediately  paddled  for 
the  land  as  fast  as  they  could.  A  gun  was  fired 
over  their  heads  to  bring  them  to  a  parley.  This 
seems  to  have  dispelled  their  fears ;  for,  waiting  till 
the  boat  came  within  reach,  the  seven  fishermen,  re 
gardless  of  odds  against  them,  began  a  furious  attack 
upon  the  whites,  which  ended  only  when  four  of  the 
natives  were  killed  and  three  made  prisoners.  These 
prisoners  were  kindly  treated,  loaded  with  trinkets, 


MURDER    OP    FRENCHMEN.  243 

and,  on  the  following  day,  set  ashore.  No  com 
munication  was  established,  however,  with  the  na- 
tives,  who  held  aloof  from  those  they  feared. 

Captain  Cook  now  began  his  circumnavigation  of 
the  islands.  It  is  curious  to  know  with  what  dif 
ferent  emotions  natives  on  different  parts  of  the  coast 
saw,  for  the  first  time,  a  ship.  Some  gazed  with 
fear  and  wonder ;  some  commenced  immediately 
pelting  the  vessel  or  boats  with  stones ;  while  oth 
ers  yet  crowded  on  board  without  fear  or  hesitation. 

The  French  were  the  next  visitors  to  New  Zea 
land.  They  seem  to  have  been  well  received  by  the 
inhabitants  of  the  coast  they  visited,  and  were  short 
ly  upon  the  most  intimate  terms  with  them;  but, 
after  a  week  of  great  harmony,  the  natives,  with 
their  usual  treachery,  fell  upon  and  massacred  two 
boats'  crews,  but  one  man  escaping  to  tell  the  tale. 
This  survivor  saw  the  bodies  of  his  unfortunate  ship 
mates  cut  to  pieces,  and  carried  off  for  the  purpose 
of  being  cooked.  A  boat,  with  sixty  men,  was  then 
on  shore,  the  crew  engaged  in  cutting  wood.  A 
small  boat  was  sent  off  in  all  haste  to  apprise  them 
of  their  danger.  Lieutenant  Crozet  immediately  or 
dered  a  quiet  retreat  to  the  boat.  On  their  way 
down  the  natives  gathered  in  their  rear,  and,  with 
loud  boastings,  urged  each  other  on  to  the  attack. 
As  they  pressed  momentarily  closer  upon  the  Euro 
peans,  Crozet  stepped  to  their  front,  and,  drawing  a 
line  in  the  sand,  with  a  voice  of  authority  bade  them 
not  transgress  that  mark.  The  natives  thought  this 


244  STORIES   OP   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

some  kind  of  witchery,  and  quietly  sat  down,  listen 
ing  even  to  a  harangue  from  the  French  officer,  and 
not  offering  to  pass  the  mysterious  line. 

Meantime  the  French  had  embarked  and  were 
now  ready  to  shove  off.  The  natives,  furious  at 
seeing  their  prey  about  to  escape  them,  with  wild 
cries  rushed  into  the  water  to  haul  the  boats  on 
shore.  The  French  were  prepared  to  receive  them, 
and  shower  after  shower  of  bullets  from  their  mus 
kets  mowed  down  the  unfortunate  natives,  who  were 
too  much  paralyzed  by  fear  and  surprise  to  even 
make  efforts  to  escape.  But  few  of  the  many  hund 
reds  gathered  there  would  have  escaped  had  it  not 
been  for  Lieutenant  Crozet,  who  forced  his  exasper 
ated  men  to  cease  firing  and  push  off  the  boats. 

On  several  other  occasions  before  they  left  the 
Bay,  the  French  revenged  the  death  of  their  ship 
mates.  This  made  such  an  impression  on  the  na 
tives,  that  a  gentleman  who  visited  the  island  in 
1837  states  the  native  hatred  of  the  French  to  have 
continued  to  that  time  unabated.  They  are  known 
as  "the  tribe  of  Marion."  (Captain  Marion  du 
Fresne  was  commander  of  that  ill-fated  expedition, 
and  perished  in  the  first  massacre.) 

Wherever  the  early  discoverers  landed  or  held 
communications  with  the  natives,  these  simple  peo 
ple  were  lost  in  wonder.  But  we  see  the  native  fe 
rocity  of  their  character  in  that  sentiment  which 
seems  to  have  followed  closest  upon  the  heels  of  their 
surprise.  This  was,  in  most  cases,  a  desire  to  know 


SUPERSTITION    OF   THE   NATIVES.  L'  1  -"> 

wliotlicr  tlicsc  divine  beings  could  fight,  and  whether 
they  were  invincible. 

The  horse  was  first  introduced  by  Europeans. 
And  many  of  the  natives,  on  first  seeing  a  man  on 
horseback,  believed  the  two  beings  to  be  one.  Noth 
ing  could  exceed  their  surprise  on  seeing  the  man 
alight  and  walk  off.  They  thought  the  creature  had 
divided  itself.  The  horse  was  at  once  set  down  as 
a  divinity.  Even  a  donkey  was  thought  to  be  an 
atna  or  god,  and  the  priests  reasoned  that,  from  his 
long  ears,  he  must  be  peculiarly  fitted  to  attend  to 
the  supplications  of  his  worshipers. 

Captain  Cook  made,  in  all,  five  visits  to  New  Zea 
land.  On  the  third  of  these  he  lost  ten  men,  who 
were  massacred  by  the  natives.  When  search  was 
made  for  them,  Mr.  Buray,  one  of  the  officers,  says, 
"  the  heads,  hearts,  and  lungs  of  several  of  our  peo 
ple  were  lying  about  the  beach,  and  the  dogs  were 
gnawing  their  entrails." 

The  last  visit  of  Captain  Cook  was  made  in  1777. 
When  Australia  began  to  be  colonized,  New  Zealand 
was  more  frequently  visited.  In  1816  a  sealing  ves 
sel,  the  Pegasus,  Captain  Stewart,  discovered  that 
the  southern  extreme  of  New  Zealand  was  an  inde 
pendent  island.  It  was  called  after  him,  Stewart's 
Island.  Sealers  for  a  number  of  years  made  excel 
lent  voyages  to  these  coasts.  The  seals  were  found 
in  great  numbers  in  many  of  the  more  southern  bays 
and  harbors.  But  the  trade  was  not  unattended 
with  danger.  Many  sealing  parties  were  cut  off  by 
the  natives. 


246  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

In  October,  1821,  six  men,  belonging  to  the  Gen 
eral  Gates,  of  Boston,  a  sealer,  were  surprised  by  the 
natives.  They  were  a  detached  party,  and  had  built 
themselves  a  hut  on  the  shore,  where  they  were  pur 
suing  their  labors.  The  savages,  after  destroying 
the  hut,  and  the  stores  contained  in  it,  forced  the 
sealers  to  march  with  them,  a  distance  of  three  hund 
red  and  fifty  miles,  to  a  large  sandy  bay.  Here  they 
rested. 

One  of  the  white  men,  John  Rawton  by  name, 
was  now  tied  up  to  a  tree,  and  his  brains  were  beaten 
out  with  a  club.  His  head  was  cut  off  and  buried, 
and  the  remainder  of  his  body  was  cooked  and  eaten. 
The  shipmates  of  the  murdered  man  had  been  kept 
for  several  days  without  food,  and  were  now  com 
pelled  to  eat  a  portion  of  their  friend.  The  five 
who  yet  survived  were  made  fast  to  trees,  and  well 
guarded  by  the  natives.  Each  day  one  was  killed, 
cooked,  and  eaten.  Those  who  thus  perished  were 
named  James  White  and  "William  Rawson,  of  New 
London,  Connecticut,  and  William  Smith,  of  New 
York. 

James  West  and  Joseph  Price  were  awaiting  their 
doom,  when  a  heavy  thunder-storm  frightened  the 
natives  away,  and  gave  them  an  opportunity  to  make 
good  their  escape.  After  some  difficulty  they  cast 
loose  the  flax  with  which  they  were  bound,  and  at 
daybreak  next  morning  put  to  sea  in  a  small  canoe 
without  either  provisions  or  water,  preferring  starv 
ation  at  sea  to  the  horrid  fate  of  their  comrades. 


AN    KNGUSH    CANNIBAL.  247 

They  had  scarcely  proceeded  a  few  yards  when  a 
number  of  natives  came  in  sight,  who  rushed  into 
the  water  to  catch  their  prey  ;  but  the  Americans, 
gathering  strength  from  their  desperation,  made 
their  escape.  After  three  days  of  almost  hopeless 
effort,  they  were  taken  up  by  a  passing  trading- 
vessel. 

In  1823,  a  young  Englishman,  named  James 
Cadell,  visited  Sydney,  after  residing  nearly  twenty 
years  among  the  natives  on  the  southwestern  coast 
of  New  Zealand.  He  stated  that,  in  1806  or  there 
about,  a  sealing  vessel,  called  the  Sydney  Cove,  left 
Port  Jackson  for  the  sealing-ground  on  the  coast. 
On  their  arrival,  a  boat  landed  Cadell,  then  a  lad 
of  thirteen  years,  with  a  crew  of  men,  in  pursuit  of 
seal-skins.  All  the  men  were  immediately  murder 
ed  and  eaten  by  the  natives,  and  such  would  also 
have  been  Cadell's  fate  had  he  not  taken  refuge  with 
a  chief  named  Tako,  who  happened  to  be  tabooed  at 
the  time. 

Taking  hold  on  his  garments,  Cadell's  life  was 
spared.  After  remaining  some  years  with  the  peo 
ple,  he  married  the  daughter  of  a  principal  chief,  and 
was  himself  made  a  chief,  and  tattooed  in  the  face. 
He  visited  Sydney  with  his  wife,  and  shortly  return 
ed,  with  renewed  pleasure,  to  the  precarious  life  of 
his  savage  tribe.  He  had  nearly  forgotten  the  En 
glish  language.  He  had  often  accompanied  the  na 
tives  in  tueir  "  wars,"  and  in  all  probability  had 
become,  like  them,  a  man-eater. 


248  STORIES    OP    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

Fanny.  You  tell  such  terrible  stories  about  the 
savages  eating  the  poor  sailors,  I  am  almost  afraid. 

Albert.  Those  are  the  stories  I  like  to  hear.  Are 
they  all  true,  George  ? 

George.  Yes,  all  that  I  tell  you  in  these  stories  is 
true.  I  must  now  speak  somewhat  about  the  ap 
pearance,  climate,  and  natural  history  of  New  Zea 
land.  The  islands  are  mountainous  and  very  rug 
ged.  Some  of  the  mountains  are  known  to  have  been 
volcanoes,  and  one  is  yet  in  subdued  action.  Since 
1846  numerous  earthquakes  have  been  felt  in  the 
northern  island.  In  1848  many  of  the  finest  build 
ings  in  Wellington,  a  colonial  town  on  the  north  isl 
and,  were  thrown  down. 

The  islands  are  well  watered  by  numerous  riv 
ers.  The  soil  is  generally  fertile,  but  in  many  parts 
marshy.  But  few  traces  of  metals  have  been  found. 
Coal  is  known  to  exist.  The  climate  is  very  humid, 
in  that  respect  resembling  that  of  England,  and  mak 
ing  the  island  a  peculiar  favorite  of  Englishmen.  It 
is  supposed  that  the  high  mountains  draw  the  rain- 
clouds,  and  cause  the  humidity  of  the  climate. 

The  prevailing  breezes  are  from  northwest  and 
southeast.  Hurricanes  and  strong  gales  are  frequent, 
and  approach  suddenly.  They  are  of  most  frequent 
occurrence  in  Cook's  Strait,  which  divides  the  two 
principal  islands,  and  seems  a  vast  funnel  through 
which  the  wind  finds  an  outlet.  The  neighboring 
mountains  here  so  alter  the  directions  of  the  winds 
that  no  two  puffs  follow  each  other  from  the  same 


240 

quarter.  A  navigator  in  those  waters  says,  "In 
the  short  coasting  voyage  from  the  Bay  of  Islands 
to  Hawke's  Bay,  I  experienced  five  heavy  gales  from 
different  points  of  the  compass,  each  of  which  threat 
ened  us  with  the  worst  consequences.  One  gale 
blew  with  all  its  force  from  the  northwest  for  ten 
hours,  when  suddenly  it  ceased.  A  dead  calm  en 
sued,  our  sails  flapping  against  the  masts  from  the 
mountain  seas  against  which  we  had  to  contend. 
In  the  space  of  twenty  minutes  we  were  driven  back 
from  our  course  with  as  heavy  a  gale  from  the  south 
east." 

During  one  half  the  year  the  sea-coasts  are  sub 
ject  to  tremendous  storms.  The  winters  are  remark 
able  for  heavy  falls  of  rain.  The  seasons  are  just 
the  reverse  of  ours.  Thus  spring  commences  in  the 
middle  of  August,  summer  in  December,  autumn  in 
March,  and  winter  in  July.  Spring  and  autumn 
are  the  -most  pleasant  seasons.  The  weather  then 
is  delightful,  uniting  all' the  brightest  features  of  the 
climates  of  the  torrid  and  temperate  zones. 

The  country  abounds  with  vast  caverns,  caused 
by  former  volcanic  eruptions.  But  few  of  these 
have  yet  been  explored,  but  enough  has  been  seen  to 
excite  wonder  at  their  extent  and  grandeur. 

The  forests  of  New  Zealand  abound  with  trees  of 
immense  size,  those  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  in 
circumference,  and  sixty  or  eighty  feet  high,  being 
common.  Many  of  the  indigenous  trees  furnish 
wood  useful  to  the  carpenter  and  ship-builder. 


250  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Among  the  most  valuable  is  the  Australian  yellow 
pine,  a  tree  which  grows  often  to  the  height  of  one 
hundred  feet  without  a  branch.  It  makes  fine  and 
strong  masts  for  vessels.  Many  of  this  species  have 
been  found  forty  feet  in  circumference. 

Many  of  the  trees  are  beautified  in  spring  by 
blossoms  of  a  bright  red  or  yellow.  The  flowers 
of  New  Zealand  are  almost  all  peculiar  to  that  part 
of  the  world.  Many  of  them  are  very  beautiful. 

On  the  river  banks  and  in  marshy  places  is  found 
the  flax  peculiar  also  to  New  Zealand.  This  vari 
ety,  known  as  the  largest  and  among  the  finest, 
grows  in  many  parts  of  the  island  without  cultiva 
tion.  Its  leaves  are  found  twelve  feet  in  length, 
while  the  flower-stalks  shoot  up  to  a  height  of  twen 
ty  feet. 

Of  quadrupeds  New  Zealand  originally  had  none. 
The  dog  was  found  there  by  Captain  Cook,  and  sup 
posed  by  him  to  be  indigenous.  But  the  inhabit 
ants  have  a  tradition  that,  many  hundred  years  ago, 
a  number  of  divinities  who  landed  on  their  shores 
left  them  some  dogs.  It  is  probable,  therefore,  that 
some  ship,  passing  before  either  Cook  or  Tasman, 
left  these  animals.  The  dog  was,  in  the  wild  state 
of  the  New  Zealanders,  a  most  useful  and  ill-treated 
servant.  But  for  his  faithful  watch  and  wakening 
bark,  many  a  family  or  tribe  would  have  been  anni 
hilated.  He  was  and  is  but  poorly  fed,  and  the  race 
had  much  degenerated  when  the  island  first  came 
under  the  notice  of  Europeans.  They  were  former- 


GOING    TO    BED    WITH    A    PIG.  251 

ly  frequently  eaten,  and  their  skins  were  used  for 
dresses. 

The  pig  was  introduced  by  Cook.  It  flourished  in 
the  mild  climate  of  New  Zealand,  and  soon  became 
a  favorite  animal  with  the  natives.  Dogs  and  pigs 
were  in  former  days  the  beasts  most  highly  prized. 
They  were  often  permitted  to  rest  on  the  same  couch- 
se  with  their  masters  and  mistresses.  Travelers 
speak  of  seeing  two  natives  sleeping  with  a  pig  laid 
cozily  between  them  upon  the  bed.  Pigs  were  train 
ed  to  follow  their  masters  about  the  country  like 
dogs,  to  answer  as  well  as  might  be  to  the  names  be 
stowed  upon  them,  and  to  make  themselves  as  much 
at  home  in  the  huts  as  their  masters  were. 

Rats  were  first  introduced  by  European  vessels. 
When  caught,  the  natives  cook  them.  The  pii/rihi, 
which  is  New  Zealand  for  pussy-cat,  was  brought  to 
the  islands  since  1815.  The  natives  account  it  very 
nutritious  food,  and  admire  it  much  also  for  the  soft 
ness  of  its  fur.  Residents  ten  or  fifteen  years  ago 
complained  much  of  the  impossibility  of  keeping 
cats. 

Sheep,  cattle,  and  horses  flourish  since  their  in 
troduction,  the  climate  agreeing  with  all. 

There  are  no  serpents  on  the  islands.  The  gua 
na,  a  harmless  species  of  lizard,  is  found  sometimes 
several  feet  in  length.  In  many  parts  of  the  world 
these  lizards  are  eaten  by  the  natives,  and  in  the 
West  Indies  they  are  even  accounted  a  first-rate 
dish  by  the  European  residents.  But  the  New 


252  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

Zealanders,  although  they  have  an  appetite  for  al 
most  any  thing  that  can  be  masticated,  have  not 
practiced  upon  the  guana. 

It  is  related  that,  in  1837,  three  snakes,  twined 
about  a  piece  of  foreign  wood,  drifted  ashore  in  the 
River  Hokianga.  At  sight  of  them  the  natives  were 
much  alarmed.  With  their  ever-ready  superstition, 
they  thought  them  the  divinities  of  another  country. 

With  birds  New  Zealand  seems  to  be  well  stock 
ed.  The  tui,  or  mocking-bird,  is  most  spoken  of  by 
incidental  visitors.  Its  body  is  jet  black.  It  has 
two  tufts  of  brilliant  white  feathers  pendent  from 
its  throat.  Various  kinds  of  parrots  and  parroquets 
enliven  the  forest  with  their  shrill  scream.  Wood- 
pigeons,  with  a  beautiful  golden-green  plumage,  are 
very  numerous.  The  cuckoo,  the  kingfisher,  togeth 
er  with  various  species  of  swallows,  ducks,  a  thrush, 
and  a  number  of  smaller  birds  peculiar  to  the  hemi 
sphere,  are  found  in  different  parts  of  the  islands. 

Among  the  more  remarkable  birds  is  the  fan-tail 
ed  flycatcher,  so  called  because,  although  its  body  is 
not  bigger  than  a  walnut,  it  has  a  large  tail,  which 
it  spreads  out  in  the  shape  of  a  fan.  When  spread 
out  to  its  full  extent  it  is  more  than  six  inches  across. 
Its  plumage  is  plain  black  and  white. 

The  kiwikiwi  is  the  most  singular  bird  at  present 
found  in  New  Zealand.  It  is  covered  with  a  hairy 
feather  like  the  cassowary.  It  is  thirty  inches  long. 
The  bill  is  six  inches  in  length,  and  shaped  like  that 
of  a  curlew.  The  legs  are  short;  but  it  is  a  fast 


BIRDS    NOW   EXTINCT.  253 

runner,  and  has,  besides,  considerable  strength  in  its 
talons.  Dogs,  when  set  to  chase  it,  sometimes  fare 
very  roughly.  It  lives  upon  earth-worms,  and,  in 
search  of  these,  burrows  deeply  in  the  ground.  The 
natives  catch  it  by  building  fires  after  night  near  its 
haunts.  Sitting  near  a  fire,  a  noise  similar  to  the 
bird's  cry  is  made  by  breaking  in  two  small  dried 
sticks.  Attracted  by  this,  they  approach  the  fire,  be 
come  confused  by  the  glare,  and  are  easily  captured. 

Naturalists  have  been  much  excited  by  the  skele 
ton  of  a  large  bird  of  the  emeu  kind,  found  some 
years  ago  near  one  of  the  new  settlements.  It  is 
supposed  that  this  bird  is  now  no  longer  found  upon 
the  island.  The  bones  found  lead  to  the  presump 
tion  that  it  must  have  been  at  least  twelve  feet  high. 
The  natives  have  a  tradition  among  them  that  in 
former  times  an  attui,  or  divinity,  having  the  form 
of  a  bird,  and  covered  with  hair,  existed  in  various 
parts  of  the  islands.  They  state  that  this  attui  way 
laid  and  killed  travelers,  and  afterward  devoured 
them.  Those  who  know  how  many  parts  of  New 
Zealand  are  yet  untrodden  by  the  foot  of  a  Euro 
pean,  harbor  a  hope  that  living  specimens  of  this 
singular  bird  may  yet  be  found.  From  the  forma 
tion  of  the  skeleton  discovered,  it  is  supposed  that 
this  bird  was  without  wings.  It  would  therefore  be 
easily  caught,  and  was  probably  used  for  food  by  the 
natives  in  times  past. 

With  fruits  New  Zealand  was  originally  but  sparse 
ly  provided.  Its  climate  is  such,  however,  that  al- 


254  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

most  all  of  the  fruits  and  grains  of  the  temperate 
zone  flourish.  The  most  valuable  esculents  are  the 
taro  and  the  kumera.  The  taro,  which  is  likewise 
indigenous  to  nearly  all  the  South  Sea  Islands,  is  a 
large  round  root  the  size  of  a  small  pumpkin.  It 
tastes  somewhat  like  a  potato,  and,  either  roasted 
or  boiled,  makes  a  most  excellent  meal. 

Albert.  Did  you  ever  taste  of  taro? 

George.  Yes,  indeed.  I  have  made  many  a  good 
meal  of  it.  In  the  Sandwich  Islands  taro  and  milk 
used  to  be  my  favorite  meal.  Wherever  the  taro  is 
grown  it  is  a  chief  dish. 

The  kumera  is  a  species  of  sweet  potato.  It  is 
much  used  by  the  natives,  who  pay  great  attention 
to  its  cultivation.  The  kumera^  according  to  tradi 
tion,  was  the  first  food  of  the  inhabitants  of  these 
islands.  It  is  held  in  great  veneration,  and  is  de 
clared  by  the  natives  to  be  an  especial  gift  of  the 
gods.  Those  who  plant  it,  as  well  as  the  field  on 
which  the  plant  grows,  are  tabooed  —  that  is,  made 
sacred  from  the  touch  of  others. 

The  European  potato,  pumpkin,  vegetable  mar 
row,  turnip,  Indian  corn,  sugar-cane,  together  with 
all  the  kitchen  fruits  and  vegetables  common  to  En 
gland,  flourish  here  remarkably  well.  Strawberries, 
raspberries,  pomegranates,  figs,  quinces,  nectarines, 
peaches,  apples,  pears,  and  Cape  gooseberries,  thrive. 
A  kind  of  fern,  growing  to  the  height  of  twelve  feet, 
is  useful  to  the  natives  for  its  root,  which  they  eat. 
The  tea-plant  covers  the  plains. 


NEW    ZEALAND    FARMS.  255 

The  neatness  of  the  farms  in  New  Zealand  occa 
sioned  astonishment  to  the  earlier  visitors  to  the  isl 
ands.  Mr.  Polack,  who  resided  there  for  a  number 
of  years  before  the  missionaries  had  succeeded  in 
penetrating  to  the  interior,  states  that  few  farms  in 
civilized  countries  are  kept  in  better  order.  "  The 
potatoes  and  kumeras  were  planted  in  rows  of  small 
hills,  laid  out  with  strict  regularity.  Between  these 
hills  the  taro  was  set  out.  Large  patches  of  Indian 
corn  grew  in  neat  order  to  our  right;  and  all  the 
cultivated  land  was  well  cleared  of  weeds.  These 
weeds  were  piled  on  top  of  walls  of  stone,  surround 
ing  the  patch  we  saw,  which  was  about  twenty  acres 
in  extent." 

The  women  work  the  farms.  The  men  give  them 
selves  but  little  trouble  concerning  agricultural  op 
erations.  When  it  was  proposed,  some  years  ago, 
to  plant  the  New  Zealand  flax  in  one  of  the  neigh 
boring  islands,  some  intelligent  New  Zealand  chiefs 
were  taken  with  the  plants,  in  order  to  explain  to 
the  laborers  the  mode  of  cultivation.  On  their  ar 
rival,  it  was  found,  however,  that  they  knew  nothing 
of  the  business  themselves.  They  claimed  to  under 
stand  only  carving  in  wood  and  the  art  of  war. 

Mr.  Polack,  in  adverting  to  native  farms,  says 
again :  "  We  passed  plantations  before  we  entered 
the  pa  (native  village).  Potatoes,  kumeras,  Indian 
corn,  melons,  pumpkins,  vegetable  marrow,  taro, 
turnips,  and  several  other  vegetables,  were  planted 
here  with  a  regularity  and  neatness  that  astonished 


256  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

traveling  Europeans  at  the  advanced  state  of  agri 
culture  among  these  people,  who  are  so  far  behind 
in  every  thing  else.  A  taiapa  or  fence,"  concludes 
Mr.  Polack,  "  surrounded  each  plot  of  ground,  to 
prevent  the  dogs  and  pigs  from  following  the  natu 
ral  bent  of  their  inclinations." 

We  come  now  to  speak  of  the  people.  I  shall  tell 
you  first  of  their  condition,  habits,  and  customs 
while  yet  in  a  savage  state.  We  will  then  look  at 
their  present  state,  and  you  will  be  enabled  by  this 
contrast  to  see  more  distinctly  the  blessed  influence 
of  our  holy  religion  in  redeeming  man  from  the  low 
est  depths  of  ignorance  and  pagan  brutality,  and 
raising  him  to  a  happy  and  useful  life. 

The  investigations  of  men  of  science  have  proved 
that  the  natives  of  all  the  islands  of  the  South  Pa 
cific,  except  New  Holland,  are  descended  from  the 
Malay  stock.  Bodily  conformation,  the  kindred 
structure  of  their  various  languages,  and  the  exist 
ence  of  similar  legends  and  traditions,  all  bear  wit 
ness  to  this  common  origin.  The  New  Zealanders 
have  many  traits  and  traditions  to  prove  their  Ma 
lay  descent. 

Concerning  the  origin  of  the  island,  native  tradi 
tion  states  that  Mawe,  king  of  Heaven,  was  one  day 
fishing  at  the  place  now  occupied  by  Hawke's  Bay, 
in  the  northern  island.  He  had  had  "  poor  luck," 
and  was  about  giving  up  for  the  day,  when  he  felt 
a  huge  bite,  and,  hauling  up  after  some  difficulty, 
raised  the  island  of  New  Zealand.  It  is  related  that 


NATIVE   TRADITIONS.  257 

Ma\ve  used  part  of  one  of  his  ears  as  bait  upon  this 
occasion ;  and,  as  an  evidence  of  the  truth  of  their 
story,  the  natives  pointed  out  in  former  times  an  islet 
in  Hawke's  Bay,  known  to  them  as  Mutton  no  Mawc, 
or  "Mawe's  fish-hook." 

The  natives  about  the  Bay  of  Plenty  had  a  tradi 
tion  that  the  country  was  peopled  by  the  descend 
ants  of  some  persons  who  came  to  that  bay  in  a 
large  canoe.  They  assign  divine  powers  to  these 
colonists,  and  the  river,  which  it  is  stated  the  canoe 
first  entered,  is  known  at  this  day  as  Ouwoa  o  te 
Atua,  "The  River  of  God."  The  only  article  of 
food  these  colonizing  divinities  brought  with  them 
was  the  kumera,  potato,  of  which  I  have  before  spoken. 

The  earlier  visitors  to  New  Zealand  describe  the 
natives  as  divisible  into  three  tribes  or  classes,  distin 
guished  by  differences  in  color  and  form.  The  olive 
or  copper-colored  race,  who  occupy  the  greater  por 
tion  of  the  islands,  are  a  finely-formed  people.  They 
are  active  and  muscular,  tall,  well-formed,  and  ro 
bust.  They  are  very  often  found  above  six  feet  in 
stature,  and  most  travelers  unite  in  calling  them  a 
race  of  giants.  Their  countenances,  particularly  of 
the  women,  are  pleasing;  their  manner,  when  in 
spired  by  kindly  feelings,  is  dignified  and  prepos 
sessing  ;  their  features  approach  the  European  cast 
more  nearly  than  those  of  any  other  South  Sea  Isl 
anders.  Their  hair  is  glossy,  black,  and  curling. 

The  inferior  class,  among  whom  are  reckoned  the 
dark  brown  and  black  tribes,  are  supposed  to  be  a 
K 


258  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

mixed  race,  the  descendants  of  New  Zealanders  and 
natives  of  Australia.  They  are  smaller,  weaker, 
and  less  active  and  intelligent  than  the  first-named 
class ;  they  are  also  less  courageous  than  these. 
Their  features  partake,  to  some  degree,  of  the  flat 
ness  of  the  Papuan  race.  They  are  despised  by  their 
lighter-colored  neighbors,  and  live  as  a  separate  class. 

As  a  nation,  the  New  Zealanders  have  always 
been  famous  as  great  eaters.  They  are  not  intem 
perate  in  any  other  respect;  but  all  travelers  and 
residents  concur  in  expressions  of  astonishment  at 
the  quantity  of  food  a  New  Zealander  is  capable  of 
consuming. 

Polygamy  was  universally  practiced  among  them 
while  yet  in  a  heathen  state.  There  was,  however, 
one  chief  or  head  wife,  who  partook,  to  the  exclusion 
of  the  rest,  in  the  honors  and  troubles  of  the  husband. 
On  the  death  of  the  husband  this  wife  usually  com 
mitted  suicide,  in  order  to  follow  her  lord  as  quickly 
as  possible  to  the  other  world.  This  was  not,  how 
ever,  demanded  by  custom,  but  seems  to  have  been 
permitted  as  a  legitimate  expression  of  affection  on 
the  part  of  the  wife. 

In  India  a  widow  perishes  at  the  stake.  In  New 
Zealand  the  less  romantic  manner  was  by  the  halter 
or  by  drowning.  Mr.  Polack  states  that  during  his 
stay  on  the  Southwest  Coast,  a  report  arrived  that 
a  chief  of  a  neighboring  village  had  been  killed  in 
battle,  whereupon  a  relative  immediately  brought 
the  head  wife  of  the  defunct  chief  a  rope  made  of 


CEREMONIES.  259 

flax,  with  which,  going  to  some  sacred  bushes  near 
by,  she  hung  herself,  no  one  attempting  to  prevent 
her.  The  story  had  a  more  tragical  termination 
than  this.  A  few. days  after  the  wife's  suicide  her 
husband  returned,  unharmed,  the  report  of  his  death 
having  been  a  mistake.  The  slave  who  had  been 
bearer  of  the  ill  news  was  now  instantly  killed,  cook 
ed,  and  eaten,  to  expiate  his  mistake,  and  pacify  the 
sorrow  of  the  husband. 

The  New  Zealanders  are  no  less  noted  for  the 
strength  of  their  friendship  than  for  their  savage  fe 
rocity  in  war.  It  is  told  of  them  that  long  journeys 
were  in  former  times  made  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  holding  reunions  of  friends  and  relatives.  The 
decease  of  friends  produces  the  most  overpowering 
emotions. 

On  such  occasions  the  ceremony  called  tangi  is 
practiced.  This  is  a  chant  or  lament,  in  which  all 
join.  The  chorus  is  a  wail  of  joy  or  sorrow,  as  the 
case  may  be ;  but  in  either  case  all  eyes  are  suffused 
with  tears,  and  those  most  violently  affected  seize  on 
sharp  mussel-shells  and  lacerate  various  parts  of  the 
body,  so  that  in  a  short  time,  although  the  occasion 
may  be  but  slight,  blood  will  be  flowing  on  all  sides. 

This  ceremony  of  tangi  was  a  passion  with  the 
New  Zealanders.  Although  appropriate  only  on  oc 
casions  of  great  joy  or  sorrow,  the  most  trivial  pre 
texts  sufficed  to  cause  its  enactment.  If  two  friends 
met  upon  the  safe  return  of  one  from  a  journey,  the 
tangi  was  immediately  performed.  If  part  of  a  tribe 


260  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

on  a  journey  accidentally  met  a  friendly  chieftain, 
the  legitimate  result  was  the  tangi.  And  it  is  re 
lated  that,  so  far  did  this  passion  extend,  that  some 
times,  during  the  enactment  of  a  tabarro,  a  species 
of  dramatic  performance,  a  person  in  the  audience 
would  suddenly  rise  and  propose  a  tangi,  whereupon 
the  play  was  instantly  abandoned,  and  actors  and 
audience  began  their  doleful  chant.  The  whole  as 
sembly  would  shortly  be  deluged  in  tears,  which 
these  people  seem  to  have  the  ability  to  shed  at  will. 
Shortly  mussels  are  in  requisition,  and  blood  is  seen 
trickling  from  the  faces  and  bodies  of  the  perform 
ers.  The  excitement  grows  wilder,  until  finally 
many  sink  to  the  earth  exhausted,  their  scanty  gar 
ments  saturated  with  blood. 

Their  mode  of  salutation,  like  that  of  many  of  the 
South  Sea  Island  tribes,  is  by  rubbing  noses  together. 
Thus,  where  you  would  shake  the  hand  of  a  stran 
ger  or  friend,  the  New  Zealander  would  rub  his 
nose  against  the  other's,  the  violence  of  the  friction 
bearing  an  exact  proportion  to  the  warmth  of  his 
friendship.  It  is  a  singular  custom,  and  one  which 
is  not  always  pleasant  to  a  person  who  has  been 
used  to  the  ways  of  civilized  life. 

Their  dress  was  very  simple,  that  of  women  dif 
fering  but  little  from  that  of  the  men.  The  most 
valued  dress  was  formed  of  dog-skins.  It  was  in 
shape  somewhat  like  a  cloak,  and  was  fastened  about 
the  neck  of  the  wearer  by  means  of  a  flaxen  cord. 
The  skins  were  cut  into  pieces  and  fitted  together 


MANNERS   AND   DRESS.  2G1 

in  such  a  manner  as  to  make  an  agreeable  blending 
of  colors.  A  cloak  of  this  kind  was  called  a  pui 
The  lining  to  which  the  dog-skin  was  sewed  con 
sisted  of  a  coarse  kind  of  matting,  very  strong.  The 
warriors  did  not  themselves  scorn  to  sew  upon  these 
garments. 

The  other  articles  of  clothing  were  a  cloth  fast 
ened  about  the  middle,  and  a  mat  reaching  from 
the  shoulders  to  the  feet.  These  flaxen  mats  were 
nicely  woven,  and  had  borders  of  green,  yellow,  or 
scarlet,  of  very  fine  workmanship.  The  tall  and 
portly  forms  of  the  natives  make  a  fine  appearance 
as  they  stalk  about  in  this  long  white  flaxen  mat. 

I  speak  of  the  manner  of  dress  and  of  many  other 
native  customs  in  the  past  tense,  because  the  prog 
ress  of  Christian  civilization  has  brought  about 
many  modifications  and  changes  in  these  matters; 
yet,  in  the  more  remote  portions  of  the  islands,  the 
more  harmless  of  these  customs  still  obtain. 

The  mats  are  formed  by  scraping  flax,  then  tying 
a  number  of  threads  together,  and  binding  these 
crosswise  about  an  inch  asunder.  The  flax  has  the 
appearance  of  floss  silk.  When  a  mat  is  to  be 
made,  a  New  Zealand  lady  invites  all  her  friends  to 
assist  her.  A  gathering  of  this  kind  is  said  to  be 
somewhat  like  an  American  quilting-party.  All 
the  necessary  preparations  are  made  beforehand. 
On  the  appointed  day  the  company  assembles,  and 
amid  jest,  laugh,  song,  and  conversation,  the  work 
goes  on  till  completed. 


262  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

The  kaitaha  mat,  which  is  the  finest,  is  worn  by 
the  men.  It  is  made  fast  over  the  right  shoulder, 
and  hangs  in  graceful  folds  to  the  ankle.  As  a  pre 
servative  against  rain,  large  heavy  garments  are 
worn.  These  are  made  of  spear-grass.  They  are 
rudely  formed,  and  resemble  a  rush  mat.  When 
squatting  down  under  cover  of  such  a  dress  in  rainy 
weather,  a  native  could  easily  be  mistaken  for  a  heap 
of  rushes.  Thirty-five  or  forty  years  ago,  some  of 
the  richest  chiefs  could  be  seen  with  cloaks  made  of 
the  feathers  of  a  small  bird  called  the  kiwikiwi. 
These  cloaks  are  now,  however,  exceedingly  rare 
and  costly.  Those  who  have  seen  them  describe 
them  as  presenting  an  exceedingly  splendid  appear 
ance.  I  have  heard  of  one  of  these  cloaks,  owned 
by  a  New  Zealand  chief,  to  make  which  the  skins 
of  more  than  ten  thousand  kiwis  were  used. 

The  natives  delighted  in  anointing  their  bodies 
from  head  to  foot  with  a  species  of  red  earth  mixed 
with  the  oil  of  a  shark's  liver.  This  compound  has 
a  most  nauseous  smell,  and  rendered  the  presence  of 
a  full-dressed  native  almost  unendurable.  Both 
sexes  bored  their  ears,  and  took  pride  in  wearing 
various  ornaments  in  the  holes.  Human  bones 
carved,  the  teeth  of  friends  or  enemies,  iron  nails, 
the  dried  skins  of  parroquets,  and  pieces  of  whale 
bone,  were  used  for  this  purpose.  The  ladies  also 
wore  armlets,  necklaces,  and  anklets  of  any  of  these 
materials.  The  men  bored  the  cartilage  of  the 
nose,  and  wore  ornaments  there. 


TATTOOING.  2G3 

The  hair  of  the  males  (worn  long)  was  gathered 
together  and  made  fast  on  the  crown  in  a  top-knot. 
Feathers  of  sea-fowl  were  inserted  in  this  top-knot, 
and  the  hair  was  plentifully  besmeared  with  blue, 
green,  yellow,  and  red  coloring  materials  and  oil. 
The  females  used  flowers  instead  of  feathers.  They 
did  not  use  sharks'  oil  and  ochre  till  arrived  at  years 
of  maturity. 

Those  of  the  natives  who  were  too  poor  to  afford 
a  water-proof  cloak  generally  took  off  their  scanty 
clothing  on  the  approach  of  a  rain-storm,  and  rolled 
it  up  in  a  bundle  to  keep  it  dry. 

The  bodies  of  the  men  are  very  generally  hideous 
ly  tattooed.  The  females  do  not  indulge  in  this 
mode  of  ornamentation.  Sometimes,  however,  they 
have  a  few  blue  marks  on  the  lips.  To  undergo  the 
operation  of  tattooing,  the  individual  lies  down  with 
his  head  resting  upon  the  knee  of  the  operator. 
Charcoal,  powder,  and  the  black  juice  secreted  by 
the  cuttle-fish,  are  the  dyes  principally  used  to  effect 
the  stain.  The  first  marks  are  generally  made  upon 
the  lips.  The  cheeks  are  next  embellished,  and  the 
process  is  gradually  extended  over  the  entire  body. 
The  greatest  attention  is  paid,  however,  to  the  marks 
upon  the  face.  They  are  thought  to  add  much  to 
the  beauty  of  the  individual. 

The  operation  is  commenced  generally  at  the  age 
of  eighteen,  and  continued  at  intervals  to  mature 
years.  Old  warriors  sometimes  have  the  lines  re- 
tattooed,  suffering  for  a  second  time  the  pain,  in 


264  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

order  to  make  their  embellishments  more  distinct. 
The  instrument  used  is  small,  chisel-shaped,  and 
made  of  bone.  The  lines  are  first  drawn  with  char 
coal  and  water.  The  chisel  then  follows  these  marks. 
It  is  driven  in  by  a  slight  blow  from  a  mallet.  The 
pain  is  intense,  and  blood  flows  freely  from  the  suf 
ferer. 

The  lines  are  drawn  with  great  taste  and  exacti 
tude.  Various  events  in  the  life  of  a  native  are  com 
memorated  by  them.  Thus  a  line  on  his  nose  may 
have  been  put  there  on  the  day  he  killed  his  first 
enemy.  Another  mark  on  his  cheek  may  denote  his 
wedding-day.  Another  yet  may  be  in  memory  of 
some  desperate  battle,  or  some  more  than  usually 
plentiful  feast  of  human  flesh.  The  countenances 
of  the  men  are  made  to  have  a  very  ferocious  ex 
pression  by  means  of  these  marks. 

Albert.  Did  you  ever  see  a  New  Zealander  with 
his  face  tattooed? 

George.  Yes,  a  good  many.  The  first  I  saw  I 
thought  hideous.  But  one  soon  gets  used  to  it,  and 
as  the  lines  are  generally  drawn  with  much  skill, 
they  shortly  strike  even  a  stranger  as  rather  orna 
mental. 

I  knew  two  sailors  who  had  been  tattooed  in  the 
face.  One  of  these  was  for  some  time  among  the 
New  Zealanders.  He  was  taken  prisoner  by  a  war 
like  tribe  while  ashore  one  day  from  his  ship.  Three 
of  his  shipmates,  who  were  taken  with  him,  were 
eaten.  He  was  only  a  boy,  and  the  tribe  adopted 


NEW    ZEALAND    HOUSES. 


265 


him.  He  lived  five  years  among  them,  and  was  on 
several  occasions  obliged  to  eat  human  flesh.  He 
made  his  escape  in  a  whale-ship  which  was  trading 
with  the  tribe  to  which  he  belonged.  The  savages 
had  tattooed  only  his  face  and  his  feet.  It  gave  him 
a  hideous  appearance.  The  chisels  used  for  tattoo 
ing  are  often  made  of 
the  bones  of  an  ene 
my.  You  see  here  a 
picture  of  a  New  Zea 
land  chief. 

The  houses  of  the 
common  people  are 
very  ill  contrived  and 
uncomfortable.  Two 
forked  sticks  are  set 
upright  in  the  ground, 
and  from  these  ridge 
poles  extend  to  the 
earth,  at  an  anglo 
of  forty-five  degrees. 
Transverse  sticks  ex 
tend  from  pole  to  pole. 
These  are  fastened 
with  flax.  The  roof, 
laid  on  these  sticks,  is  made  of  flags  and  totoi,  a  spe 
cies  of  grass,  and  is  entirely  water-proof.  A  small 
hole  is  left  at  one  side  to  serve  as  an  entrance. 

The  hut  is  seldom  more  than  four  feet  high,  and 
the  entrance-hole  is  so  small  that  the  occupants  are 


266  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

obliged  to  crawl  in  and  out  on  their  hands  and  knees. 
The  fire  is  built  in  the  centre  of  the  hut  on  some 
stones.  The  smoke  is  expected  to  escape  by  the 
door-way,  although  sometimes  a  hole  is  left  in  the 
centre  of  the  roof  to  serve  as  a  chimney.  The  inte 
rior  of  the  house  is,  of  course,  quite  dark.  It  is  oc 
cupied  only  at  night,  or  on  cold  days,  when  the  weath 
er  is  so  inclement  as  to  make  a  stay  out-doors  un 
comfortable  to  the  lightly-clothed  New  Zealander. 

The  natives  are  very  expert  at  constructing  the 
houses  above  described.  A  war  or  fishing  party, 
stopping  for  the  night,  will  erect  a  whole  village  in 
an  hour.  The  building  of  houses  is  the  care  of  the 
men. 

In  the  larger  villages  a  better  class  of  dwellings 
is  found.  These  are,  in  general,  the  property  of  the 
chiefs.  They  are  twelve  to  thirteen  feet  high,  and 
often  forty  feet  long  by  twenty  wide.  The  sides 
and  roof  are  of  reeds  nicely  put  together.  The  roof 
is  afterward  thatched.  The  front,  where  there  is  a 
veranda  covered  by  the  roof,  is  sometimes  taste 
fully  ornamented  by  painting  and  carving.  The 
New  Zealanders  have  an  artistic  perception  of  the 
beautiful  where  they  confine  themselves  to  simple 
lines,  circles,  and  ovals,  but  where  they  attempt  the 
human  figure  they  always  fall  into  the  grotesque. 
You  will  see  in  the  picture  of  a  New  Zealand  vil 
lage,  in  the  Frontispiece  to  this  volume,  some  of 
these  grotesque  figures. 

Each  village  is  surrounded  by  a  strong  fence,  and 


A   NEW    ZEALAND   VILLAGE.  207 

all  the  most  important  ones  are  protected  by  pali 
sades,  and  sometimes  a  ditch.  The  constant  quar 
rels  of  the  different  tribes,  and  their  mode  of  war 
fare,  probably  made  this  protection  necessary.  Be 
sides  the  dwellings,  every  village  contains  the  store 
houses  of  the  inhabitants.  Some  of  these  are  erect 
ed  with  great  care.  The  flax-houses  arc  sometimes 
seen  forty  feet  in  height.  The  canoe-houses  are  also 
very  long  and  high.  Sometimes  families  live  in  a 
story  above  the  canoes.  These  last  are  carefully 
placed  on  rollers,  to  keep  them  from  the  ground. 

Besides  these  store-rooms,  they  have  the  watta, 
platforms  built  upon  trees,  or  raised  on  stout  branch 
es.  These  are  used  as  depositories  for  provisions  of 
all  kinds,  as  well  as  for  the  valuables  of  the  tribe ; 
and  here  sometimes  the  women  take  refuge,  hauling 
the  ladder  up  after  them,  and  remaining  in  safety 
from  attack  till  their  lords  return.  You  will  see  a 
tratf'i  in  the  village  near  one  of  the  houses. 

The  houses  are  considered  sacred  by  their  owners. 
They  never  eat  in  them ;  and  with  the  exception  of 
fleas,  with  which  they  appear  to  be  universally  in 
fested,  the  apartments  are  very  nicely  kept. 

In  the  construction  of  canoes  the  natives  display 
much  ingenuity.  These  vessels  are  found  of  various 
sizes,  from  the  little  tewai,  eight  feet  long,  to  tlicpitau 
of  eighty  feet.  Canoes  are  usually  made  of  yellow 
or  red  pine.  They  are  formed  of  a  single  tree,  and 
with  the  rude  instruments  used  by  the  natives,  the 
finishing  of  a  large  canoe  is  a  labor  of  many  months. 


268 


STORIES    OP    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 


You  may  judge  of  the  immense  thickness  of  the  for 
est  trees  of  New  Zealand  by  the  size  of  their  canoes. 


A  NEW   ZEALAND   BOAT. 


I  have  seen  a  description  of  one  purchased  by  a  res 
ident  :  it  was  seventy-six  feet  long,  six  feet  wide,  and 
four  feet  deep.  To  construct  it,  a  tree  had  been 
burned  down,  the  natives  having,  at  that  time,  no 
axes.  The  log  was  afterward  burned  out,  and  then 
its  shape  was  given  it  by  means  of  native  adzes  and 
chisels.  The  sides  were  two  inches  thick,  the  bot 
tom  three.  Thwarts  or  seats  were  firmly  fixed  in 
side  to  strengthen  the  boat. 

To  make  it  higher,  and  thus  add  to  its  capacity. 


CANOES.  2G9 

a  plank  was  fastened  to  each  side ;  these  planks 
were  each  sixty-six  feet  long.  An  entire  tree  was 
consumed  in  making  one  of  these  planks.  They 
were  fifteen  inches  wide  and  two  inches  thick,  and 
were  fastened  to  the  hull  of  the  canoe  by  means  of 
a  strip  of  board,  placed  outside,  over  the  junction  of 
the  plank  and  hull.  Holes  were  bored  in  the  plank 
and  in  the  canoe,  and  the  two  firmly  lashed  together 
with  scraped  flax  ;  the  holes  were  then  closed  up 
with  a  vegetable  substance.  Thus  the  line  of  junc 
tion  was  entirely  water-tight. 

Great  pains  are  taken  with  the  ornamental  por 
tion  of  the  canoe,  the  figure-head  and  stern-post. 
All  their  skill  in  carving  and  painting  is  lavished  on 
these  parts,  and  they  generally  succeed  in  giving  the 
structure  a  very  odd  look  indeed.  On  the  canoe  I 
have  been  describing  to  you,  the  figure-head  project 
ed  six  feet  beyond  the  hull,  and  was  about  three  feet 
in  height.  The  ruppa,  or  stern  ornament,  was  about 
twelve  feet  high,  eighteen  inches  broad,  and  two 
inches  thick.  When  in  use,  long  garlands  of  feath 
ers  generally  hang  pendent  from  the  stem  and  stern, 
and  gannet's  feathers  line  the  band  below  the  gun 
wale  on  either  side.  The  entire  canoe  is  painted  a 
bright  red,  with  the  red  earth  before  mentioned. 
When  just  starting  upon  a  trip,  a  boat  thus  dressed 
off  presents  a  fine  appearance. 

The  paddles  are  light,  and  neatly  made.  The 
blade  is  broad  at  the  centre,  and  sharp  at  the  lower 
end.  The  entire  instrument  is  four  or  five  feet  long. 


270  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Steering-paddles  are  longer.  A  carved  paddle  is 
used  as  a  spear  on  gala  days.  Those  used  in  the 
canoes  are  generally  without  ornament.  Many  of 
the  canoes  will  easily  carry  one  hundred  men.  Al 
though  they  are  so  narrow  and  shallow,  the  natives 
venture  to  carry  sail  on  them.  There  is  but  one 
small  mast,  and  the  sail  is  triangular,  the  broad  part 
being  carried  uppermost.  It  is  made  of  a  species  of 
grass.  The  natives  understand  only  how  to  sail  be 
fore  the  wind.  With  such  shallow  vessels,  they  could 
not  safely  use  the  sail  with  the  wind  from  any  other 
direction.  In  paddling,  the  entire  crew  strike  the 
water  as  one  man.  Time  is  kept  by  songs  and  cho 
ruses,  in  which  all  join.  The  greatest  velocity  of 
a  New  Zealand  canoe  is  about  six  miles  per  hour. 
When  a  great  warrior  chief  dies,  his  favorite  canoe 
and  all  its  appendages  are  placed  in  the  cemetery  as 
a  monument  to  him. 

As  before  stated,  the  New  Zealanders  are  noted 
as  hearty  eaters.  They  are  not  by  any  means  nice 
as  to  the  quality  of  their  food.  In  speaking  of  their 
farms  and  gardens,  I  enumerated  to  you  the  vege 
tables  they  make  use  of.  Of  these  the  Icwnera  is  prob 
ably  the  most  important.  In  traveling,  dried  fish, 
and  a  preparation  of  fish  and  potatoes,  are  much 
used.  These  articles  can  be  prepared  beforehand, 
and  save  trouble  on  the  journey. 

In  their  selection  of  animal  food  the  natives  are 
not  at  all  nice.  The  blubber  of  the  whale  is  consid 
ered  a  luxury.  Scraps — that  is,  bits  of  blubber  from 


NEW    ZEALAND    GLUTTONY.  271 

which  the  oil  has  been  extracted,  are  highly  valued 
as  delicacies.  When  the  carcass  of  a  whale  is  thrown 
ashore  in  any  of  the  bays,  the  neighboring  tribes 
have  a  fight  over  it.  This  generally  results,  how 
ever,  in  a  treaty,  by  which  all  comers  are  permitted 
to  participate.  When  it  is  taken  into  consideration 
that,  ere  a  whale  thus  drifts  ashore,  his  body  is  gen 
erally  half  decayed,  you  may  judge  of  the  strength 
of  a  Ne\v  Zealander's  appetite  and  stomach. 

The  liver  of  the  shark,  which  is  a  mass  of  oil,  is 
thought  a  most  delicious  morsel.  It  has  a  sickening 
smell,  but  to  this  the  natives  do  not  object.  Fish 
of  every  kind  form  an  important  article  of  food. 
Dogs,  cats,  and  rats  are  favorites  of  the  table.  Seal 
oil  is  thought  a  very  palatable  drink  ;  and  sealers  of 
former  times  complained  that  their  native  visitors 
not  only  drained  the  oil  from  their  lamps,  but  actu 
ally  swallowed  the  wicks. 

Mr.  Polack  relates  that,  when  traveling  on  one 
occasion  with  two  native  attendants,  they  passed  the 
carcass  of  a  shark  lying  upon  the  beach.  The  stench 
arising  from  the  body  in  a  state  of  decomposition 
was  so  strong  as  to  disagreeably  affect  the  traveler's 
olfactories.  They  stopped  for  the  night  at  a  village 
not  far  from  the  shark's  body,  and  during  the  night 
the  two  native  attendants  actually  proceeded  to  the 
beach  and  devoured  nearly  the  whole  carcass. 

Tarria,  a  Bay  chief,  a  giant  even  among  the  New 
Zealanders,  was  noted  for  an  undiscriminating  appe 
tite.  It  is  stated  of  him  that,  in  his  wars,  he  has 


272  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

frequently  eaten  a  baby  at  a  single  meal.  This  man 
was  seen  to  swallow  a  bucket  full  of  cook's  dripping 
and  slush,  and  ask  for  more. 

The  New  Zealand  mode  of  cooking  is  identical 
with  that  practiced  in  most  of  the  South  Sea  Isl 
ands.  A  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground,  and  in  this  a 
fire  is  built.  Flat  stones  are  thrown  in  and  made 
red-hot.  Another  hole  is  now  made  ready.  Its 
sides  and  bottom  are  lined  with  flat  stones,  by  this 
time  nearly  red-hot.  The  provisions,  be  these  pigs, 
fish,  or  kumeras,  are  wrapped  up  in  leaves,  and  placed 
in  the  hole.  Some  more  leaves  are  piled  on  the  top, 
an  old  basket  is  covered  over  all,  water  is  poured  on 
(which  causes  a  dense  steam  to  arise),  and  earth  is 
quickly  thrown  over  the  basket  in  sufficient  quanti 
ties  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  steam.  In  twenty 
or  twenty-five  minutes  the  oven  is  opened,  and  the 
provisions  are  found  to  be  nicely  cooked.  I  have 
frequently  partaken  of  meats  and  taro  prepared  in 
this  way,  and  can  vouch  for  it  as  being  an  excellent 
method  of  cooking. 

In  cleaning  the  animals  which  they  intend  to  eat, 
the  New  Zealanders  are  not  so  careful  as  a  more 
civilized  taste  demands.  To  save  the  blood  of  a  pig 
intended  for  dinner,  they  take  the  luckless  animal 
to  the  nearest  watercourse  and  drown  it.  Almost 
all  parts  are  eaten,  and  the  only  preparation  for  the 
oven,  in  many  cases,  is  to  singe  the  hair  off  and 
wash  the  animal's  outside.  It  is  first  opened  when 
brought  upon  the  table.  Food  is  served  in  little 


NKW    ZEALAND    MARRIAGES.  273 

baskets  no.ii ly  and  oxpeditiously  made  of  a  tough 
grass.  These  are  used  but  once,  fresh  ones  being 
prepared  for  each  meal. 

The  handicrafts  of  savages  are  of  course  few,  and 
only  adapted  to  supply  their  most  urgent  necessities. 
At  present,  most  of  the  European  tools  are  in  com 
mon  use  among  the  natives  of  Now  Zealand.  In 
former  times,  the  chisel,  made  of  flint  or  red  jasper, 
the  axe  and  the  battle-axe,  made  of  granite,  and  the 
tattooing  chisel,  made  of  the  bones  of  an  enemy, 
were  the  only  tools  in  use.  Axes  were  considered 
almost  priceless  treasures.  They  were  never  sold, 
and,  being  of  stone  and  indestructible,  were  handed 
down  from  father  to  son  as  family  heir-looms. 

In  those  times  fishing-nets  were  their  chief  man 
ufacture  besides  canoes.  Many  of  these  nets  and 
seines  were  one  thousand  feet  long.  They  were 
made  of  flax,  and  lasted  a  long  time.  A  whole  vil 
lage  or  tribe  was  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
one  of  these  instruments,  and  during  its  progress  the 
neighborhood  was  strictly  tabooed,  that  is,  made  sa 
cred — all  approach  of  strangers  being  entirely  pro 
hibited.  The  violation  of  this  taboo  was  invariably 
productive  of  a  war,  in  which  the  violators,  when 
caught,  were  religiously  eaten. 

Among  the  many  odd  customs  peculiar  to  New 
Zealand,  not  the  least  singular  is  their  manner  of 
tying  the  marriage  knot.  There  arc  no  preliminary 
ceremonies.  When  all  is  prepared,  the  lover  con 
ducts  his  bride  to  his  hut,  and  she  is  at  once  in- 
fij 


274  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND  WORLD. 

stalled  as  mistress.  But  no  sooner  does  this  take 
place  than  a  party  of  the  friends  of  both  parties  ar 
rive  upon  the  scene.  They  strip  the  new-married 
pair  of  every  thing  they  possess,  and  give  them,  be 
sides,  a  sound  beating.  How  this  absurd  practice 
originated  is  not  known,  but  no  one  is  exempt  from 
its  operation.  It  is  part  of  the  custom  called  utu  by 
the  natives. 

The  various  operations  of  this  custom  seem  ex 
ceedingly  absurd  to  one  accustomed  to  more  enlight 
ened  ideas  of  right  and  propriety.  Old  settlers  and 
traders  relate  many  instances  in  their  own  experi 
ence  when  utu  or  satisfaction  was  demanded  on  the 
most  preposterous  pretenses.  If  a  man,  in  attempt 
ing  to  knock  another  man  down,  should  hurt  his 
own  foot,  he  straightway  demands  utit,  or  a  present 
of  some  kind,  as  a  satisfaction  for  the  injury  he  has 
sustained.  If  a  man  falls  in  battle,  his  good  friends 
instantly  rush  to  his  plantation,  and  rob  his  wives 
and  children  of  all  they  have,  as  utu  for  the  death  of 
their  friend.  If  a  canoe  is  by  accident  overturned 
opposite  a  village,  the  inhabitants  immediately  swim 
off  to  the  scene  of  disaster,  and  take  possession  of 
canoe,  paddles,  and  all  of  the  contents  on  which 
they  can  lay  their  hands.  If  a  man's  wife  dies,  he 
is  in  turn  robbed  by  his  best  friends. 

The  village  at  which  a  white  trader  resided  was 
tabooed  because  the  inhabitants  were  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  of  a  fishing-net.  The  trader  had  pur 
chased  at  a  neighboring  village  a  quantity  of  hogs 


UTU    AND    TABOO.  275 

and  some  native  mats.  The  canoe  containing  his 
purchases  unluckily  approached  the  tabooed  settle 
ment  to  deliver  the  goods,  none  of  the  boatmen 
knowing  of  the  taboo.  This  was  thought  a  legiti 
mate  occasion  for  the  exaction  of  utu,  and  conse 
quently  the  natives  made  in  a  body  for  the  water 
side,  and  took  possession  of  the  canoe  and  its  con 
tents,  driving  the  boatmen  off.  The  trader  recov 
ered  his  property  only  on  the  payment  of  several 
hogs  and  some  tobacco. 

An  English  traveler  in  New  Zealand  relates  that, 
upon  entering  a  village  once  when  a  great  feast  was 
being  held,  he  was  received  with  a  salute  of  fire-arms. 
In  this,  one  chief  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  hurt  by 
the  recoil  of  his  musket.  His  friends  immediately 
rushed  up  to  him,  and  took  away  not  only  the  mus 
ket,  but,  in  addition,  every  article  of  clothing  he  had 
on,  by  way  of  utu,  or  (as  they  judged)  reasonable 
compensation  for  having  committed  the  disrespect  to 
the  white  stranger  of  injuring  himself. 

The  taboo,  or  sacred  prohibition,  is  a  custom  com 
mon  to  nearly  all  the  Pacific  Isles.  The  priests 
have  the  entire  management  of  it.  It  operates  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  render  a  place,  person,  or  thing 
sacred  from  touch,  and,  consequently,  from  spoliation. 
The  flax-houses  of  the  natives,  which  contain  some 
of  their  most  valuable  goods,  are  strictly  tabooed  to 
all  but  the  owners,  and,  consequently,  they  are  per 
fectly  safe  from  the  depredations  of  thieving  warri 
ors,  who  would  draw  upon  their  heads  the  vcngc- 


276  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

ance  of  a  whole  people  by  even  a  slight  breach  of 
the  prohibition. 

The  kumera  fields,  as  well  as  the  planters,  are  in 
like  manner  tabooed.  Cemeteries  are  under  taboo, 
and  may  not  be  touched.  If  an  accident  of  any  de 
scription  occur  to  the  person  of  a  chief,  the  scene  of 
its  occurrence  is  thenceforth  tabooed.  This  is  gen 
erally  published  to  passing  strangers  by  fastening  a 
small  quantity  of  human  hair  to  a  tree  or  stick  near 
the  place.  This  sign  is  never  violated  unless  for  the 
purpose  of  making  a  quarrel. 

When  either  sex  are  busily  engaged  on  any  par 
ticular  kind  of  work,  they  are  tabooed,  and  forbid 
den  to  touch  food  with  their  hands.  They  are  then 
fed  like  little  children.  If  a  poor  slave  is  thus  ta 
booed,  he  has  to  eat  his  food  from  the  ground  as  best 
he  may,  as  no  one  will  think  it  worth  while  to  feed 
him. 

A  father  is  not  unfrequently  tabooed  not  to  strike 
or  touch  his  child  for  a  certain  time ;  and  trav 
elers  relate  that  the  children  are  nc£  slow  to  take 
advantage  of  this  prohibition.  A  whole  neighbor 
hood  tabooed  is  obliged  to  suspend  connection  with 
outsiders.  Chiefs  living  at  the  mouth  of  a  river  will 
often  taboo  it  in  order  to  cut  off  the  communication 
of  those  above  with  the  shipping  below ;  and  in  such 
cases  the  natives  do  not  hesitate  to  fire  into  any  boat 
attempting  an  infraction  of  the  prohibition. 

Although  the  New  Zealand  women  have  natural 
ly  strong  affections,  they  were,  in  former  times,  often 


NEW    ZEALAND    CHILDREN.  277 

guilty  of  infanticide.  Boys  were  never  killed  ;  but 
little  girls  were  very  often  strangled  or  drowned  as 
soon  as  born.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  moth 
er  does  not  desire  the  trouble  of  caring  for  a  child 
which  will  never  be  of  help  or  advantage  to  her,  but 
is  destined  to  be  the  wife  and  slave  of  some  stranger. 

Boys  are  -treated  with  the  greatest  consideration. 
They  are  early  trained  to  believe  themselves  quite 
the  equals  of  their  fathers.  The  son  of  a  chief  ac 
companies  him  in  all  his  expeditions.  He  is  never 
punished  by  his  parent.  From  his  earliest  years  he 
has  a  place  beside  his  father  in  council;  he  talks 
freely,  and  his  opinions  are  listened  to  with  defer 
ence.  One  mat  accommodates  both  father  and  son 
when  they  rest,  and  in  all  things  else  they  live  and 
labor  in  common. 

This  treatment  makes  the  children  very  hardy,  but 
also  exceedingly  impudent.  Little  fellows,  scarcely 
able  to  walk,  may  be  seen  steering  large  canoes; 
boys  of  six  years  ask  questions  and  give  vent  to  their 
opinions  on  the  topics  of  the  day  in  large  assem 
blies  of  chiefs.  They  dance,  play  tricks,  and  gor 
mandize  in  a  style  quite  equal  to  their  elders.  In 
fact,  it  seems  there  is  a  Young  New  Zealand  as  well 
as  a  Young  America. 

The  religious  belief  of  the  New  Zealanders  is  pe 
culiar.  They  know  of  no  one  God,  creator  and  pre 
server  of  all.  Their  deities — atuas  they  call  them 
— may  be  numbered  almost  by  thousands.  They 
have  dim  legends  of  some  gods  to  whom  the  islands 


278  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

and  the  first  inhabitants  owed  their  existence ;  but 
every  well-known  chief  that  dies  is  supposed  to  be 
come  immediately  an  atua,  and  to  exercise  more  or 
less  influence  on  the  fortunes  of  those  with  whom 
he  has  been  connected  in  this  life. 

The  tastes  and  actions  assigned  to  these  atuas  are 
much  more  gross  and  evil  than  are  possessed  by  their 
worshipers.  They  are  therefore  feared,  and  the  chief 
business  of  the  priests  is  to  force  them,  by  means  of 
charms  and  incantations,  to  leave  in  peace  the  bodies 
or  fortunes  of  those  whom  they  are  supposed  to  be 
tormenting. 

All,  even  the  most  trivial,  of  the  incidents  of  daily 
life  are  attributed  to  the  influence  of  atuas.  If  a 
poor  man  has  a  griping  of  the  bowels,  he  straightway 
consults  a  priest,  under  the  belief  that  some  more 
than  usually  evil  disposed  divinity  is  feeding  upon 
his  entrails.  Every  bad  passion,  with  its  results,  is 
laid  to  the  charge  of  an  atua.  On  the  contrary,  the 
pleasures  of  life  are  taken  for  granted,  no  interven 
tion  on  the  part  of  the  priesthood  being  asked  to 
procure  their  continuance.  The  lizard  is  supposed 
to  be  an  atua ;  and  the  appearance  of  one  of  the 
large  guanas  would  have  been  sufficient,  thirty  years 
ago,  to  put  to  flight  an  entire  army  of  New  Zealand- 
ers.  The  winds  are  supposed  to  be  under  the  direc 
tion  of  certain  atuas.  The  presiding  divinity  of  the 
westerly  winds  (which  are  particularly  squally)  is 
believed  to  be  especially  passionate  and  easily  ruf 
fled.  And  the  natives  say  farther  that,  not  un- 


NEW    ZEALAND    SUPERSTITIONS.  279 

frequently,  he  chokes  from  anger,  by  which  they  ac 
count  for  the  long  discontinuance  of  the  westerly 

pin 

Although  not  worshiped  as  good  beings,  the  atuas 
are  much  respected.  As  they  are  the  forefathers 
and  relatives  of  their  worshipers,  this  is  quite  reason 
able.  If  a  native  finds  cause  to  believe  that  he  has 
offended  his  atua,  he  endeavors  to  conciliate  him  by 
throwing  into  the  water  some  object  of  value,  or  by 
burning  down  his  house.  If,  however,  he  have  a 
neighbor  Weaker  than  himself,  he  very  wisely  burns 
his  house  rather  than  his  own,  believing  that  this 
will  effect  a  reconciliation  as  well.  If  he  is  led  to 
believe  that  none  of  these  actions  have  been  success 
ful  in  mollifying  the  wrath  of  his  atua,  he  hesitates 
not  to  commit  a  crime  of  deeper  dye.  He  sacrifices 
a  slave. 

Dreams  are  regarded  with  much  superstitious  at 
tention.  It  is  a  common  amusement  of  the  old  peo 
ple  to  tell  and  explain  each  other's  dreamy  fancies. 

With  their  numerous  divinities,  all  spirits  of  evil, 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  New  Zealanders  are  ar 
rant  cowards  in  the  dark;  and  that,  even  in  broad 
daylight,  the  twitter  of  a  harmless  little  bird  or  tho 
hooting  of  an  owl  causes  them  to  tremble.  When 
on  a  boating  expedition,  no  inducements  are  suffi 
cient  to  cause  them  to  remain  on  the  water  after 
dark.  In  the  villages  no  one  stirs  out  after  sunset. 
The  various  noises  heard  in  the  forests  are  supposed 
to  be  caused  by  different  atuns,  an  accidental  meet- 


280 


STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 


ing  with  whom  would  surely  be  fatal.  The  musical 
chirp  of  the  zui  bird  causes  a  general  tremor  in  the 
largest  evening  assemblage.  The  voice  of  the  little 
korimaku  bird,  which  is  found  near  cemeteries,  is 
believed  to  be  the  utterance  of  an  atua,  which,  in 
this  guise,  watches  the  bones  of  the  dead,  and  warns 
intruders  off. 

The  ivai-tapus,  or  cemeteries,  are  regarded  with 


A   WAI-TAPU,   OE   CEMETERY. 


much  veneration  by  all  New  Zealanders.  These 
burial-places  are  generally  situated  amid  a  grove  of 
trees.  Death  would  be  certain  to  any  one  who  was 
discovered  eating  the  fruit  of  one  of  these  trees,  A 


A    WAI-TAIT,  OR    CEMETERY.  281 

stout  fence  surrounds  the  space  where,  beneath  mon 
umental  effigies,  repose  the  bones  of  departed  chiefs. 
The  carvings  on  these  monuments  are  mostly  of  the 
most  grotesque  kind.  You  have  a  sample  opposite. 

One  would  hardly  suppose  such  rude  and  repul 
sive  countenances  and  shapes  to  be  intended  as  mon 
uments  of  departed  greatness.  "  One  of  these  posts," 
writes  Mr.  Polack,  "  was  nearly  thirty  feet  high. 
The  upper  part  was  carved  in  the  semblance  of  a 
man,  with  a  dull  animal  expression.  This  upper 
figure  stood  upon  the  head  of  another,  which  had  a 
most  grotesque  face.  The  tongues  of  both  figures 
were  extended  to  more  than  their  natural  length. 
This  is  a  feature  peculiar  to  nearly  all  native  efforts 
at  sculpture.  The  eyes  were  formed  of  pieces  of 
pearl  shell,  and  were  large  enough  for  a  dozen  fig 
ures.  Rarore  pointed  out  to  me  a  small  box,  made 
from  an  old  canoe,  which  contained  the  remains  of 
a  deceased  child  of  his,  whose  bones  had  been  scraped 
and  washed  clean  of  the  flesh  before  being  deposited 
here.  This  box  was  placed  in  the  branches  of  a  tree." 

The  monuments  are  generally  painted  red.  Where 
houses  are  built  to  preserve  the  remains  of  the  dead, 
old  canoes  are  used  as  the  building  material.  In 
these  houses  the  bones  of  celebrated  chiefs  repose,  in 
company  with  the  muskets,  spears,  and  other  arms 
they  used  during  life.  Against  the  fence  nearest 
the  house,  large  pieces  of  canoes  are  fastened  ;  these 
contain  fac  similes  of  the  tattooing  marks  by  which 
the  deceased  chieftain  was  distinguished  when  alive. 


282  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

Speaking  of  passing  a  wai-tapu,  Mr.  Polack  says  : 
"  At  this  moment  a  little  korimaku  bird  raised  its 
musical  voice  ;  my  natives  closed  near  to  each  other, 
and  Wata  turned  to  me,  saying,  'That  is  the  god 
of  the  New  Zealanders.  He  warns  us  not  to  come 
near  the  wai-tapu :  let  us  walk  quick  and  avoid  his 
anger.' "  Upon  occasions  of  war,  or  when  it  has  be 
come  necessary  for  any  cause  to  propitiate  to  an  ex 
traordinary  degree  the  atuas,  it  is  customary  to  have 
a  great  gathering  of  the  tribe,  and,  amid  feasting,  to 
exhume  the  bones  of  the  last  deceased  chieftains  in 
the  cemetery  of  the  tribe,  and  scrape  them  clean, 
preparatory  to  their  being  deposited  in  a  new  recep 
tacle  above  ground.  This  ceremony,  called  the  Hai- 
hangu,  is  regarded  with  peculiar  awe,  inasmuch  as 
the  spirits  of  those  now  about  to  be  formally  canon 
ized  are  expected  to  watch  vigilantly  over  the  pro 
ceedings. 

The  bones  are  scraped  with  mussel-shells,  washed 
in  a  tabooed  stream,  and  placed  in  the  cemetery. 
From  this  place  they  are  brought  by  the  priests,  who 
march  in  procession,  singing  sacred  songs,  while  the 
multitude  shout  exaggerated  praises  of  the  bravery 
and  other  good  qualities  of  the  deceased.  It  was 
once  the  fashion  on  these  occasions  to  sacrifice  slaves 
to  the  manes  of  the  deceased.  The  bodies  of  these 
slaves  were  then  cooked  for  the  feast,  which  con 
cludes  the  ceremonies  of  the  Haihangu.  This  cus 
tom  was  discontinued  on  account  of  the  scarcity  of 
slaves. 


THE  IIAIHANGU,  OR  SCRAPIXG  OF  BONES.      283 

The  procession  finally  returns  to  the  icai-tapu, 
where  the  bleached  bones  are  placed  upon  a  raised 
platform,  on  a  mat  powdered  with  kokowai — the  red 
rarth  used  for  painting.  In  front  of  the  platform, 
on  small  poles  set  into  the  ground,  a  number  of  hu 
man  heads  are  displayed.  These  are  the  heads  of 
enemies,  perhaps  slain  by  the  deceased.  They  have 
been  duly  prepared,  and  dried  with  the  skin  on,  and 
are  now  stuffed  with  flax.  "  The  countenances  have 
a  sardonic  grin,  which  gives  them  a  frightful  ap 
pearance,"  says  Mr.  Polack,  who  attended  one  of  these 
celebrations.  "  All  were  very  much  tattooed,  and 
their  bushy  beards  still  clung  to  the  faces.  The  flax 
projecting  through  their  eyes  added  to  the  ferocity 
of  their  appearance.  One  head  had  a  large  gash 
across  the  forehead;  another  had  the  lower  jaw 
nearly  severed.  Some  circlets  of  twisted  grass  were 
placed  above  seven  of  the  poles.  These  were  called 
wakaous,  and  were  said  to  have  been  picked  up  near 
tabooed  places.  They  had  been  left  there  by  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  on  their  way  to  their  future  res 
idence." 

The  feast  in  the  afternoon  is  attended  by  the  in 
habitants  of  all  the  surrounding  villages.  Besides 
eating,  this  is  an  occasion  for  speech-making.  Wars, 
fishing-parties,  kumera  patches,  and  all  the  various 
interests  of  the  tribe,  are  discussed  in  a  grandiloquent 
manner,  which  is  not  altogether  peculiar  to  savages, 
and  the  chiefs  endeavor  to  excel  one  another  in  brag 
gadocio. 


284  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

A  New  Zealand  chief  is  a  proud  being.  His  per 
son  is  accounted  divine.  His  hair,  when  cut,  which 
is  not  often,  is  carefully  gathered  up,  and  placed  in 
the  wai-tapu  of  the  tribe.  Their  spirits,  after  death, 
are  supposed  to  reign  in  heaven.  It  is  thought  a 
chief's  left  eye  ascends  to  heaven  with  his  soul,  and 
takes  its  place  as  one  of  the  stars  in  the  firmament. 
They  do  not  relish  being  killed  in  war,  as  in  this 
case  it  is  supposed  that  their  spirits  become  subject 
to  those  of  their  conquerors.  But,  as  they  have  be 
fore  them  the  fact  that  on  their  decease  their  bodies 
will  be  treated  with  the  utmost  honor,  and  their 
spirits  will  be  worshiped  as  divinities,  they  look 
death  in  the  face  without  blenching,  and,  in  fact,  re 
gard  him  as  rather  a  welcome  visitor. 

A  chief,  after  his  decease,  is  seated  in  state  on  a 
trestle  or  in  a  canoe.  Every  thing  in  the  vicinity 
is  strictly  tabooed ;  the  body  is  decorated  with  hand 
some  mats,  which  reach  to  the  chin.  The  head  is 
splendidly  ornamented  with  feathers.  The  hair  is 
turned  up,  crammed  into  a  bunch,  and  tied  with  a 
parre,  or  native  ribbon.  The  hair  and  ribbon  are 
dripping  with  train  oil.  If  the  deceased  has  been 
a  principal  chief,  the  skulls  and  bones  of  his  an 
cestors  are  honorably  placed  in  a  canoe  or  plat 
form  near  him,  while  the  remains  of  his  enemies, 
taken  in  battle,  are  at  his  feet. 

Mr.Polack  witnessed  the  laying  out  of  a  warrior's 
corpse.  He  says  :  "  Around  the  body  lie  his  weap 
ons  of  defense,  which  are  to  be  buried  with  him. 


FUNERAL    CEREMONIES.  285 

By  his  side  lay  the  body  of  an  interesting  girl,  his 
will'.  She  had  hung  herself  the  day  previous  from 
grief.  Some  slaves,  male  and  female,  had  been  put 
to  death,  that  their  spirits  might  be  in  waiting  to 
attend  their  superiors  at  the  reinya,  or  heavenly  gath 
ering.  The  several  surviving  wives  of  the  deceased, 
together  with  a  multitude  of  relations,  friends,  and 
children,  were  grouped  around,  bleeding  at  ever}' 
pore  from  large  gashes  cut  in  their  flesh.  The  air 
resounded  with  their  groans  and  waitings." 

The  chief  leads  his  tribe  to  battle  in  times  of  war ; 
he  enjoys  the  flattery  of  his  subjects,  and  is  generally 
the  wealthiest  man  in  the  village.  But  he  is  not, 
by  his  position,  exempt  from  any  labors  of  the  tribe. 
He  takes  an  active  part  in  the  manufacture  of  fish 
ing-nets,  and  even  labors  in  the  fields  in  common 
with  other  men.  The  women,  however,  do  most  of 
the  field  labor.  The  carving,  for  which  New  Zea- 
landers  are  celebrated,  is  all  the  work  of  chiefs.  In 
this  they  take  peculiar  pride.  In  the  villages,  in 
daily  life,  there  is  but  little  distinction  made  be 
tween  a  chief  and  a  private  citizen.  The  village 
meals  are  partaken  of  by  all  in  common,  without 
distinction  of  rank.  The  white  traders  complain  of 
the  chiefs  as  being  more  mean  and  cunning  than 
their  followers,  and  as  never  losing  a  chance  to 
cheat  or  steal. 

The  office  of  priest  is  one  of  some  importance  in 
the  New  Zealand  villages.  The  priest  of  a  district 
is  also  its  barber,  surgeon,  physician,  necromancer, 


286  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WOULD. 

apothecary,  and  fortune-teller.  The  office  is  open  to 
any  one,  either  male  or  female.  The  younger  rela 
tions,  who  have  but  little  property,  generally  take  to 
the  priesthood  as  a  means  of  gaining  influence  and 
an  easy  living. 

When  a  priest  has  established  his  character  and 
influence,  he  is  consulted  on  all  the  important  occa 
sions  of  life.  The  crops,  fishing  excursions,  mar 
riages,  war,  and  peace,  all  are  held  in  abeyance  till 
the  priest  has  decided.  He  causes  war  to  be  pro 
claimed,  and,  after  its  commencement,  decides  upon 
its  continuance  or  cessation.  After  a  victory,  he  is 
expected  to  examine  the  entrails  of  the  slain  while 
their  bodies  are  preparing  for  the  table.  From  the 
position  and  taste  of  these  entrails  he  decides  upon 
the  renewal  or  cessation  of  the  contest.  The  priests 
have  the  exclusive  privilege  of  eating  the  body  of  the 
first  slain  in  a  battle.  The  chiefs  and  tribe  partake 
of  the  balance.  The  anathema  of  a  priest  is  much 
dreaded,  as  most  potent  and  evil-working. 

As  they  are  frequently  called  upon  to  foretell  fu 
ture  events,  it  not  unfrequently  happens  that  their 
prophecies  are  unfulfilled.  In  this  case  it  is  readily 
believed  that  some  evil-disposed  atua  overruled  the 
natural  order  of  events  to  spite  the  priest ;  and  the 
people,  in  consequence,  pay  a  double  tribute  of  ap 
plause  to  the  priest's  discrimination,  and  avenge 
themselves  upon  the  atua  by  expressions  of  boundless 
contempt. 

Slaves  are  persons  taken  prisoners  in  war  or  precl- 


CANNIBALISM.  287 

atory  excursions.  The  master  has  full  power  over 
the  life  of  his  sen-ant.  If  a  slave  be  caught  in  an 
attempt  at  escape,  any  one  may  kill  him.  Their 
condition  is  very  unhappy.  When  they  meet  they 
weep  together  over  departed  happiness,  and  cut  deep 
gashes  in  their  bodies  as  tokens  of  their  sorrows. 
They  are  subject  to  all  the  caprices  of  their  savage 
masters ;  even  their  lives  are  at  no  moment  secure. 
If  their  masters  happen  to  be  hungry,  they  think  but 
little  of  having  a  slave  cooked  for  dinner. 

In  1834,  Tarria,  a  chief  who  had  been  companion 
in  arms  with  E'Ongi,  the  greatest  and  most  fero 
cious  of  New  Zealand's  chiefs,  landed  at  the  Bay  of 
Islands  with  a  parcel  of  slaves.  On  the  first  day  he 
had  three  slaves  killed  and  cooked  for  his  party. 
Rev.  Mr.  Butler,  a  missionary,  was  present  and  wit 
nessed  the  horrid  spectacle.  He  used  every  entreaty, 
and  even  fell  on  his  knees  before  the  chief,  to  induce 
him  to  save  the  lives  of  the  rest  of  the  slaves,  about 
forty  in  number.  This  Tarria  had  always  protected 
the  missionaries,  and  he  gave  the  required  promise. 
But,  annoyed  at  being  disturbed  in  his  social  enjoy 
ments,  he,  with  his  party,  shortly  removed  to  a  dis 
tance  of  sixteen  miles  inland,  and  there  finished  his 
entire  boat-load  of  slaves,  killing  and  eating  at  the 
rate  of  three  per  day. 

When  a  slave  dies  of  disease  he  is  not  eaten ;  his 
body  is  flung  into  the  sea,  or  into  the  next  hole, 
where  dogs  devour  it.  When  killed,  no  sacrificial 
honors  are  paid  to  a  slave ;  the  corpse  is  handed  over 


288  STORIES    OP   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

to  the  cook,  and  when  ready  for  the  table,  a  small 
portion  of  the  meat  is  given  to  the  priest,  who  places 
it  in  a  basket,  which  is  suspended  in  the  wai-tapu,  or 
cemetery,  as  a  propitiatory  offering  to  Wiro,  who  is 
the  chief  spirit  of  evil. 

Owing  to  the  frequency  of  their  sanguinary  wars, 
the  natives  have  learned  the  art  of  fortification. 
Their  walled  inclosures  are  called  E'Pd.  Though 
built  in"  primitive  style,  they  serve  to  enable  a  weak 
tribe  to  protect  itself  against  the  aggressions  of  a 
stronger.  They  are  generally  built  upon  hill-tops, 
where  an  attacking  party  will  labor  under  serious 
disadvantages  in  making  its  approaches.  The  walls, 
of  which  there  are  two,  are  made  of  stout  posts  firmly 
set  in  the  ground,  united  by  transverse  logs,  and  the 
interstices  filled  up  with  lesser  poles  and  stakes,  all 
bound  solidly  together  with  strong  reeds.  Between 
the  two  walls  or  fences  a  ditch  four  feet  deep  is  cut. 
The  pas  are  most  generally  taken  by  stratagem  or  by 
the  treachery  of  some  of  the  besieged  party,  as  the 
warriors  are  not  sufficiently  brave  for  an  assault. 

Before  the  introduction  of  fire-arms  among  the 
natives,  the  spear  and  the  battle-axe,  or  stone  toma 
hawk,  were  used.  The  spear  was  generally  thrown 
aside  in  the  beginning  of  an  engagement.  The  bat 
tle  then  merged  into  a  series  of  single  combats, 
wherein  the  antagonists  seized  each  other  by  the 
hair,  each  trying  to  split  open  the  other's  head.  No 
mercy  was  shown  or  expected.  There  is  no  word 
for  "  quarter"  in  the  language  ;  and  the  alternatives 


SOWING    POWDEU.  289 

before  a  vanquished  party  were  to  run  away  or  stay 
and  be  eaten. 

The  use  of  fire-arms  had  the  effect  of  changing 
their  mode  of  warfare  considerably.  They  soon 
learned  to  fight  at  greater  distances ;  and  when  ac 
tually  making  an  assault,  they  fired  as  long  as  they 
had  the  courage  to  stand  and  load,  and  then  drop 
ped  their  muskets  and  rushed  to  close  battle  with 
tomahawks.  The  slaves  and  women  were  made  to 
follow  in  the  rear  and  gather  up  the  muskets  drop 
ped  by  their  lords. 

It  is  related  that  when  the  natives  first  beheld 
powder,  they  were  under  the  impression  that  it  was 
the  seed  of  a  vegetable.  Accordingly,  when  some 
was  given  to  a  native  chief,  he  had  a  space  of  ground 
dug  in  the  most  careful  manner.  Waiting  until  a 
smart  shower  had  prepared  the  soil  for  the  reception 
of  seed,  he  carefully  planted  the  gunpowder.  Much 
to  his  disappointment,  it  did  not  bring  him  any  re 
turn  ;  but  the  paper  which  contained  his  supposed 
seed  was  thrown  into  a  fire,  causing  an  explosion 
which  quickly  dispersed  the  surrounding  savages, 
who  declared  the  "  seed"  to  be  the  Atua  no  to  palieha, 
'•  the  Deity  of  the  white  man." 

The  trophies  of  a  battle  in  New  Zealand  are  the 
heads  of  the  principal  chiefs.  These  heads  are  care 
fully  preserved  by  a  process  which,  while  it  makes 
the  expression  of  the  countenance  more  horrible  than 
even  in  life,  retains  on  it  all  the  distinguishing  marks 
of  the  warrior.  The  brain,  eyes,  and  tongue  are 
T 


290  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

extracted ;  the  neck  is  then  closed  like  a  purse,  and 
the  head  is  steamed  in  a  native  ovenr  The  fat  that 
issues  is  carefully  wiped  away,  and  the  head  is  hung 
up  over  a  wood  fire  till  thoroughly  smoked.  In  this 
condition  they  will  keep  for  many  years. 

Upon  the  conclusion  of  a  peace,  the  heads  are  re 
turned  to  the  relatives  of  the  deceased,  who  recog 
nize  them  easily  by  the  tattooing  marks.  Many  fam 
ilies  keep  the  restored  heads  in  boxes,  airing  them 
in  fine  weather,  to  preserve  them  from  damp,  and 
holding  them  in  much  veneration.  If  the  conqueror 
despises  his  enemy,  and  does  not  desire  peace,  he  re 
tains  or  gives  away  the  heads,  or,  perhaps,  roasts 
them  by  the  fire  and  eats  them.  When  a  celebrated 
chief  is  killed,  his  body  is  cut  up  into  small  pieces, 
that  all  may  have  a  taste.  Pieces  are  even  sent  to 
a  distance,  and  received  as  great  favors  by  those  thus 
borne  in  remembrance. 

The  New  Zealanders,  as  a  people,  have  an  exceed 
ingly  quick  sense  of  injuries,  and  a  vengeful  spirit. 
With  great  cunning  they  will  bide  their  time,  and, 
perhaps  long  after  the  injury  is  forgotten  by  the  oth 
er  party,  will  take  a  bloody  revenge.  This  spirit  is 
the  cause  of  the  numerous  almost  ceaseless  wars  by 
which  the  islands  were  formerly  nearly  depopulated. 
In  those  days  any  trifling  cause  was  sufficient  for  a 
war.  The  accidental  obstruction  of  a  road;  the 
innocent  violation  of  a  taboo ;  the  incursion  of  a 
strange  pig  or  dog  into  a  wai-tapu — any  of  these,  and 
even  yet  more  insignificant  occasions,  were  sufficient 


NEW    ZEALAND    FEROCITY.  291 

to  deluge  a  whole  district  in  blood.  Thus  it  hap 
pens  that,  even  so  late  as  1837,  there  was  scarcely 
a  family  in  the  country  which  had  not  suffered  more 
or  less  by  wars.  Mr.  Polack  states  that,  at  a  Jlai- 
hangu  which  he  attended,  where  many  hundred  fam 
ilies  were  assembled,  one  of  the  chiefs  was  unable  to 
point  out  to  him  a  single  person  that  had  not  eaten 
an  enemy,  or  that  had  not  lost  a  friend  in  the  wars. 
Their  natural  ferocity  seems  to  be  much  increased 
by  indulgence  in  this  practice.  No  action  seems  too 
cruel  or  mean  when  their  savage  feelings  are  aroused. 
"  A  chief  named  Werowero  quarreled  with  a  neigh 
boring  chief.  The  latter  made  use  of  a  native  an 
athema  signifying  that  he  would  cut  off  AVerowero's 
head,  and  sell  it  to  the  white  traders.  For  this 
curse  or  threat  Werotcero  determined  to  have  full 
iitu.  He  made  himself  the  steadfast  friend  of  his 
antagonist,  and,  watching  his  opportunity,  slew  him 
and  cut  off  his  head.  This  he  now  privately  con 
veyed  to  the  house  of  a  Mr.  Ralph,  an  English  flax- 
collector  residing  in  that  district.  Entering  the 
house  in  the  absence  of  the  family,  he  hung  the  head 
in  the  chimney,  over  the  kettle  wherein  the  provi 
sions  for  the  English  family  were  cooked.  It  re 
mained  there  for  several  days,  the  fatty  matter  ooz 
ing  out  and  dropping  into  the  food  below.  When 
discovered,  Mr.  Ralph  taxed  Werowero  with  the  in 
famy  of  his  conduct ;  but  this  chief  raved  in  turn, 
saying  that  it  was  right,  because  his  enemy  had 
threatened  him  with  a  like  fate." 


STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

There  are  instances  on  record  where  white  men, 
masters  of  vessels,  have  aided  the  savages  in  their 
most  bloodthirsty  schemes,  merely  in  order  thereby 
to  gain  a  few  tons  of  flax.  In  1831,  a  monster 
named  Stewart  sailed  from  Port  Jackson,  Australia, 
in  the  brig  Elizabeth,  to  procure  a  cargo  of  flax  in 
New  Zealand.  On  arriving  at  the  flax  district,  he 
inquired  for  the  article,  and  was  told  in  reply  by  the 
natives  that  if  he  would  help  them  destroy  their  en 
emies  they  would  furnish  him  with  a  cargo  gratis. 
He  instantly  agreed,  and,  taking  on  board  a  large 
number  of  savages,  sailed  for  Banks'  Peninsula,  on 
the  eastern  coast  of  the  southern  island.  Arrived 
there,  Stewart  decoyed  on  board  the  principal  chiefs 
and  families. 

As  they  arrived  on  deck,  they  were  placed  in  con 
finement  below.  A  great  number  were  thus  decoy 
ed  to  their  death.  The  victims  were  actually  cook 
ed  in  the  ship's  coppers*  The  head  chief,  a  venera 
ble  old  man,  was  nailed  alive  to  a  stancheon  in  the 
cabin,  and  the  body  of  his  son  was  devoured  before 
his  eyes.  When  no  more  natives  could  be  decoyed 
on  board,  Stewart  and  his  savage  allies  proceeded 
ashore,  destroyed  all  they  could  find,  and  burned  the 
villages.  Thereupon  he  procured  the  cargo  he  had 
so  iniquitously  earned,  and  returned  to  Sydney.  He 
was  never  punished  for  his  inhumanity. 

I  can  give  you  no  better  idea  of  the  people  as  they 

*  Coppers  are  the  kettles  in  which  the  food  for  the  crew 
of  a  vessel  is  prepared. 


NATIVE    WARS.  293 

were  so  late  as  1834  and  '6,  of  their  heartless  fe 
rocity,  their  treachery,  and  their  singular  cowardice, 
than  is  to  be  gathered  from  an  account  of  one  of 
their  war  expeditions. 

In  November,  1831,  some  natives  of  Waikato,  a 
district  on  the  western  coast,  not  far  from  the  present 
city  of  Auckland,  made  a  visit  to  Taranaki,  or  Cape 
Egmont,  with  the  ostensible  purpose  of  purchasing 
some  fish  which  are  obtainable  only  at  the  latter 
place.  The  strangers  were  well  received,  and,  as 
there  were  no  grudges  between  the  tribes,  were  har 
bored  without  suspicion.  Their  canoes  were  repair 
ed  for  them ;  they  were  loaded  with  presents,  and 
charged  nothing  for  the  fish  which  they  had  come 
to  purchase.  These  strangers  were  spies,  come  to 
ascertain  the  strength  of  the  Taranaki  defenses. 

About  a  month  after  this  visit,  the  Taranaki  poo- 
pie  were  surprised  to  find  their  country  surrounded 
by  the  fires  of  an  enemy.  The  chiefs  immediately 
gathered  their  forces  to  resist  an  attack.  On  count 
ing,  they  found  that  the  entire  population  amounted 
to  about  three  thousand.  Upon  ascertaining-  that 
their  enemies  were  more  numerous,  they  determined 
to  retreat  to  their  pa.  Being  much  alarmed,  they 
neglected  to  take  up  their  crops,  which  were  nearly 
ripe,  and  thus,  while  starving  themselves,  left  for  the 
enemy  a  plentiful  supply  of  kumera  and  potatoes. 

Now  began  a  scene  of  suffering  and  cruelty  which 
seems  almost  without  parallel.  The  men  of  Wai- 
kato  began  operations  by  laying  waste  all  the  coun- 


294  STORIES   OF   THE   ISLAND   WORLD. 

try  about  the  pa,  burning  down  cemeteries  and  vil 
lages,  and  destroying  every  thing  in  their  path. 
Here  the  fortress  was  invested,  daily  assaults  being 
made  for  twelve  days,  when  the  besieged,  unable  any 
longer  to  defend  themselves,  surrendered.  During 
the  siege  the  attacking  party  lost  thirty-six  men. 

Reduced  to  the  last  stage  of  famine,  and  almost 
senseless  with  their  sufferings  and  the  anticipated 
horrors,  the  besieged,  on  the  thirteenth  day,  in  broad 
daylight,  threw  down  their  fences  or  walls,  and  fled  in 
every  direction.  They  were  instantly  pursued  with 
horrid  yells.  Wherever  caught,  they  were  struck 
down ;  neither  age  nor  sex  was  spared.  Numbers 
threw  themselves,  with  their  children,  down  a  steep 
rock,  which  formed  one  side  of  the  hill  on  which 
the  fortification  was  built.  About  twelve  hundred 
persons  were  killed  or  captured.  The  latter  were 
crowded  into  small  huts  and  strongly  guarded,  while 
their  conquerors  glutted  themselves  with  the  bodies 
of  the  slain  lying  about  the  plain. 

The  following  day  the  prisoners  were  brought  out, 
and  those  among  them  whose  faces  were  well  tattoo 
ed  had  their  heads  struck  off.  Those  who  bore  but 
few  marks  were  instantly  killed  by  a  blow  on  the 
skull.  The  headless  trunks  were  thrown  across  a 
trench,  that  the  blood,  which  discolored  the  earth 
for  some  miles  around,  might  be  carried  off. 

Every  species  of  cruelty  was  practiced.  Young 
children  were  cut  open,  disemboweled,  and  roasted 
on  sticks  placed  close  to  large  fires  made  of  the  fence 


A    CANNIBAL    FEAST.  295 

of  the  last  pa.  Four  hundred  persons  were  killed  in 
the  morning,  and  a  like  number  in  the  afternoon. 
Many  of  the  wretches  so  overloaded  their  stomachs 
with  their  horrid  food  that  they  died  of  the  surfeit. 
While  these  cannibal  feasts  were  held,  the  heads  of 
the  slain  were  placed  on  sticks  thrust  into  the 
ground  in  such  manner  as  to  face  the  victors. 
These  addressed  the  most  insulting  language  to  the 
lifeless  heads,  as  though  they  could  hear  and  see. 

Josephine.  That  is  a  terrible  story,  George.  It 
makes  me  shudder  to  think  of  such  savages.  Is  it 
all  true  ? 

George.  Yes.  White  traders,  who  lived  in  the 
vicinity,  were  eye-witnesses  to  part,  and  had  the  rest 
of  the  story  from  the  lips  of  the  victors. 

Albert.  The  people  of  Waikato  were  very  mean, 
after  they  had  so  many  presents  made  to  them,  and 
were  so  kindly  treated,  to  kill  their  friends.  I  wish 
the  others  had  succeeded  in  driving  them  away,  even 
if  they  had  killed  a  great  many.  The  Taranaki  seem 
to  have  been  good  people ;  were  they  not  ? 

George.  They  seem  to  have  been  fully  as  bad  as 
those  who  so  treacherously  attacked  them.  The 
small  remnant  who  succeeded  in  making  their  es 
cape  when  the  walls  of  the  pa  were  thrown  down, 
fled  to  some  neighboring  villages  for  shelter.  Its 
pa  was  immediately  opened  to  them,  and  its  people 
assured  them  of  shelter  and  protection.  When,  how 
ever,  the  Taranakians,  the  fugitives,  saw  that  they 
outnumbered  their  new  friends,  they  fell  upon  them, 


296  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

and  requited  their  generous  friendship  by  killing  and 
devouring  them,  leaving  scarcely  a  man  alive  to  tell 
the  tale. 

Albert.  That  was  mean.  I  am  not  sorry  that  so 
many  were  killed  of  such  mean  people. 

George.  We  can  scarcely  feel  any  sympathy  for 
so  ungrateful  and  treacherous  a  people.  But  we  can 
feel  thankful  that  their  descendants  have  learned  to 
act  otherwise,  and  that  cannibalism  is  no  longer  prac 
ticed  in  the  islands,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  remotest 
fastnesses,  where  the  foot  of  the  white  man  has  not 
as  yet  penetrated. 

The  tragedy  was  not  yet,  however,  finished.  The 
victorious  tribes,  after  carousing  to  their  hearts'  con 
tent,  flushed  with  their  success,  determined  to  attack 
another  pa,  in  which  were  stationed  at  this  time 
eleven  Europeans.  From  the  accounts  of  these  we 
get  a  more  complete  idea  of  the  New  Zealand  mode 
of  warfare  than  is  any  where  else  to  be  found. 

Besides  the  Europeans  the  pa  contained  three 
hundred  and  fifty  natives.  The  attacking  forces  were 
several  thousand  strong.  Victory  seemed  to  them 
certain.  Yet  they  looked  with  distrust  upon  the 
presence  of  the  white  men,  who,  they  well  knew, 
would  make  a  desperate  defense.  It  was  therefore, 
in  council,  determined  to  accomplish  the  capture  of 
the  fort  by  stratagem  or  surprise. 

The  approach  of  the  enemy  was  discovered  from 
the  pa  in  time  to  give  the  natives  an  opportunity  to 
gather  their  kumeras  and  deposit  them  within  the 


TREACHERY.  297 

fences  or  walls.  At  the  advice  of  the  Englishmen, 
they  then  banked  up  the  fences  with  clay,  so  as  to 
make  them  ball-proof.  There  happened  to  be  four 
small  field-pieces  in  the  pa.  The  white  men  man 
ned  these.  They  had  no  regular  ammunition  for 
them,  and  were  obliged  to  load  with  pieces  of  iron 
hoop  and  stones.  They  determined,  however,  not 
to  give  up,  and  encouraged  the  natives  to  make  all 
the  resistance  possible,  as  otherwise  their  butchery 
was  certain. 

The  attacking  party,  on  arriving  opposite  the  pa, 
saw  the  preparations  which  had  been  made  for  their 
reception,  and  at  once  determined  on  treachery.  A 
AVaikato  chief  advanced  in  front  of  his  party,  and 
waved  his  hat  for  a  parley.  He  was  shortly  joined 
by  a  chief  from  the  pa.  They  sat  upon  the  sand, 
saluted  each  other,  and  then  began  the  tangi,  or  wail 
of  joy,  used  only  by  the  most  endeared  friends  on 
meeting.  The  pa  chief  then  expostulated  with  his 
antagonist  on  the  course  his  tribe  were  pursuing, 
asking  if  the  two  people  had  not  always  been  friends, 
&c.,  and  finally  warning  him  of  the  well-known  valor 
of  the  white  men. 

After  much  conversation  they  embraced  each 
other  affectionately,  the  Waikato  chief  exclaiming, 
"  AVell,  we  will  have  peace ;  and  before  we  depart, 
admit  us  into  your  pa,  that  we  may  embrace  our 
friends  and  swear  mutual  amity,  thus  insuring  our 
future  friendship." 

This  .was  not  agreed  to;  but  it  was  concluded 
that  for  several  days  no  fighting  should  take  place. 


298  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

An  hour  had  not  passed  since  the  conclusion  of 
the  parley,  when  the  enemy  rushed  forward,  and 
danced  the  war-dance  before  the  walls  of  the  pa. 
While  those  inside  were  yet  deliberating  whether 
this  confident  approach  meant  peace  or  war,  an  at 
tack  was  made  upon  the  fortress.  Under  the  direc 
tion  of  the  whites,  the  natives  rallied  and  fought 
manfully,  repelling  their  enemies  with  a  loss  of  sev 
eral  killed  and  wounded. 

On  the  following  day  the  Europeans  became  wit 
nesses  to  a  feature  in  the  native  campaigns  for  which 
a  stranger  could  be  scarcely  prepared.  Several 
chiefs  of  the  Waikatos,  the  enemy,  came  into  the 
fort.  These  fellows  were  known  to  be  most  bitter 
and  bloodthirsty.  They  were,  nevertheless,  freely 
admitted,  and,  as  the  account  states,  "  entered  into 
conversation  as  if  they  were  animated  by  the  purest 
sentiments  of  affection  for  the  besieged."  The  chief 
topic  of  conversation,  after  the  first  compliments  were 
over,  was  the  bravery  and  warlike  deeds  of  each 
speaker  during  a  skirmish  the  preceding  day.  This 
duly  discussed,  the  enemy  were  shown  the  field- 
pieces;  they  were  permitted  to  see  the  few  arms  of 
the  besieged,  and  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
outsiders  had  many  more ;  the  weaknesses  in  the  de 
fenses  were  pointed  out  to  them,  and  every  advant 
age  or  disadvantage  possessed  by  the  besieged  was 
fully  and  fairly  discussed,  as  though  neither  party 
was  at  all  interested. 

This  almost  incredible  custom  is  said  to  have  been 


COMICAL    RESULT   OP    A    QUARREL.  299 

practiced  from  time  immemorial  by  the  New  Zca- 
landers  in  their  wars.  It  is  stated  that,  in  such 
cases,  chiefs  readily  place  themselves  in  the  power 
of  their  bitterest  foes;  and,  singularly  enough,  not 
withstanding  their  readiness  for  treachery  at  other 
times,  no  advantage  is  ever  taken  of  this  confidence. 

When  the  entire  fortress  had  been  reviewed,  and 
all  its  weak  points  exposed  and  discussed,  the  Wai- 
kato  chiefs  proposed  a  surrender  to  the  besieged. 
Had  not  the  white  men  resisted  this,  it  would  proba 
bly  have  been  accepted ;  when  the  little  party  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  murdered  to  a  man. 

On  the  fourth  day  a  meeting  was  asked  by  those 
outside  between  the  head  chief  of  the  Waikatos  and 
the  native  commander  of  the  fortress.  They  met 
opposite  the  pa,  and  conversed  very  affectionately 
together.  The  Waikato  chief  finally  lamented  the 
disagreement,  and  the  duplicity  heretofore  used  to 
ward  the  other  side,  and  promised  faithfully  to  with- 
draw  his  forces  immediately. 

When  this  news  reached  the  pa,  a  number  of  the 
inhabitants  determined  to  invite  the  enemy  to  join 
them  in  a  dance  before  leaving;  others,  however, 
suspected  treachery.  The  dispute  between  the  two 
parties  was  very  bitter.  One  man,  who  had  quar 
reled  on  the  subject  with  his  wife,  threw  himself  into 
a  fire,  and  was  burned  so  severely  that  he  died  a  few 
days  after. 

Two  sisters  grew  angry  on  the  subject:  one,  a 
married  woman,  who  had  taken  the  Waikato  side 


300  STORIES    OF   THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

of  the  question,  ran  out  of  the  pa  toward  those  whose 
part  she  had  taken.  This  temptation  was  too  great 
for  them.  She  was  seized  and  cut  to  pieces  in  sight 
of  the  pa  people.  The  mangled  parts  were  washed 
in  the  brook  which  ran  through  the  pa,  thus. effect 
ually  tabooing  the  water,  and  preventing  the  natives 
from  using  it. 

Having  now  thrown  off  the  mask,  the  enemy  im 
mediately  made  an  assault.  They  were  once  more 
beaten  off.  They  next  attempted  to  undermine  the 
fences  or  walls,  but  the  vigilance  of  the  besieged  ren 
dered  this  impossible.  They  then  threw  firebrands 
over  the  walls,  or  on  the  huts  within.  This  attempt 
was  also  defeated  by  the  English  and  natives. 

Some  days  after,  having,  in  the  mean  time,  sus 
tained  daily  losses,  the  perfidious  Waikatos  again 
sued  for  peace,  professing  deep  regrets  for  their  past 
actions.  Again  the  pa  people  were  ready  to  take 
them  at  their  word,  and  it  required  the  utmost  per 
suasion  of  the  whites  to  keep  them  from  surrender 
ing  the  place. 

At  last  a  British  schooner  arrived  in  the  river 
fronting  the  pa.  She  had  on  board  stores  for  the 
white  traders  and  agents  in  the  fort.  The  Waikatos 
endeavored  to  surprise  her ;  but,  being  unsuccessful 
in  this,  consented  to  let  one  of  their  chiefs  hold  a 
parley  on  board  with  ^  one  of  the  Englishmen  from 
the  fort.  This  amounted  to  nothing,  however.  The 
Waikato  chief  expressed  to  the  schooner's  captain 
his  determination  to  kill  the  Englishmen  and  sell 


MNUULAR    TRAFFIC.  301 

their  heads.  To  the  English  trader  he  promised  to 
save  their  lives,  with  the  prospect  of  being  taken  as 
slaves  into  the  interior.  Neither  of  these  conditions 
being  at  all  promising,  the  Englishmen  determined 
to  remain,  with  their  goods,  at  the  fort,  and  defend 
themselves  to  the  last.  The  vessel  was  obliged  to 
leave,  as  the  neighborhood  of  such  a  horde  of  sav 
ages  was  dangerous  to  her  safety. 

Thus  the  brave  Europeans  were  left  to  their  rather 
dubious  fate.  Their  position  had  now  become  ex 
ceedingly  irksome.  The  wretched  quarrels  and  jeal 
ousies  of  the  pa  natives  gave  them  no  less  uneasi 
ness  than  the  attacks  of  those  without.  All  watch 
duty  fell  upon  the  English.  The  natives  retired  at 
dark,  and  slept  unconcernedly  all  night,  as  though  no 
enemy  were  within  a  hundred  miles.  Every  pro 
posal  for  peace  on  the  part  of  the  treacherous  Wai- 
katos  was  looked  on  with  favor  by  the  unsuspicious 
pa  men. 

This  was  the  state  of  affairs,  when  a  new  species 
of  traffic  was  opened.  The  Waikatos  possessed  be 
tween  three  and  four  thousand  muskets.  The  pa 
people  had  but  a  hundred  of  these  weapons.  In  one 
of  the  visits  within  the  pa,  a  trade  was  started  up, 
and  those  within  the  walls  were  soon  supplied  with 
as  many  muskets  as  they  wanted.  And,  more  sin 
gular  still,  while  a  trade  would  be  going  on  within, 
small  parties  outside  would  have  desperate  skirmish 
es,  in  which  several  would  be  killed  on  either  side. 

Meantime  the  Waikatos  built  high  mounds  of 


302  STORIES    OP    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

clay,  by  means  of  which  they  could  overlook  and 
fire  into  the  pa.  Those  within  were  thus  necessi 
tated  to  move  about  with  extreme  caution,  as  the 
exposure  of  a  body  was  instantly  followed  by  half  a 
dozen  balls.  The  barter  of  muskets  was  continued 
from  day  to  day.  On  one  occasion,  while  a  trading 
party  was  within  the  fort,  a  quarrel  aro»e  between 
some  fort  men,  who  had  ventured  outside,  and  sev 
eral  Waikatos.  The  belligerents  immediately  came 
to  blows,  and  in  the  fracas  three  of  the  Waikato 
party  were  killed.  Their  bodies  were  immediately 
dragged  into  the  fort,  cut  up,  cooked,  and  eaten,  in 
the  presence  of  the  white  men. 

On  the  day  following  this  deed,  one  of  the  field- 
pieces  burst,  without,  however,  doing  any  material 
injury.  But  this  accident  encouraged  the  assailing 
party,  whose  patience  was  by  this  time  completely 
exhausted.  They  made  preparations  for  a  decisive 
assault,  and,  in  the  course  of  the  afternoon,  informed 
the  pd  people  that  "  they  intended  to  lie  in  ambush  early 
next  morning,  and  thus  take  the  fort  by  surprise"  Such 
a  proceeding  as  informing  an  enemy  of  a  contem 
plated  surprise  seems  almost  incredible;  but  its 
truth  is  vouched  for  by  the  Europeans,  who  alone, 
it  seems,  thought  proper  to  pay  any  attention  to  the 
threat.  The  natives  treated  it  with  the  utmost  con 
tempt,  and,  when  night  came  on,  lay  down  on  their 
mats,  and  slept  as  soundly  as  though  no  enemy  were 
near. 

The  whites  knew  that  the  Waikatos  were  now 


TI1K    LAST    NKiHI.  303 

nearly  without  provisions ;  that  a  blockade  of  three 
weeks,  on  their  part,  had  rendered  them  doubly  sav 
age  ;  and  that  the  end  of  all  their  operations  was 
drawing  nigh.  The  chiefs  who  had  occasionally 
visited  the  pa  had  taken  occasion  to  inform  them 
that  they  (the  whites)  were  to  be  eaten,  and  the 
chiefs  to  whose  lot  each  one  would  fall  had  been 
already  pointed  out.  All  of  these  white  traders 
were  married  to  native  women,  and  had  their  wives 
and  children  with  them  in  the  fort.  Of  course, 
these  would  share  the  fates  of  their  husbands  and 
fathers.  You  may  imagine,  therefore,  the  agoniz 
ing  feelings  of  these  eleven  poor  fellows  when  they 
found  themselves  on  the  eve  of  coming  in  conflict 
with  sevenil  thousand  infuriated  savages,  all  thirst 
ing  for  their  blood ;  and  saw,  in  addition,  that  their 
native  allies  were  totally  unreliable,  and  as  weak  in 
purpose  as  they  were  in  numbers. 

The  long  night  was  passed  in  solitary  watchings, 
the  natives  sleeping  soundly  at  the  feet  of  the 
whites,  who  knew  that  the  dawn  would  decide  the 
fates  of  all.  Fancy  their  feelings,  children,  as  they 
stood,  alone  or  in  couples,  upon  the  walls,  peering 
into  the  darkness,  to  discover,  if  possible,  the  stealthy 
advances  of  the  savage  hordes.  Each  moving  bough, 
or  reed  trembling  in  the  wind,  their  excited  imag 
ination  transforms  into  an  enemy.  Each  sigh  of 
the  wind  to  them  seems  the  whisper  of  a  AVaika- 
to;  the  far-off  croaking  of  a  frog,  or  hooting  of  an 
owl,  causes  them  to  grasp  tighter  the  musket,  and 
bend  forward  to  meet  the  attack. 


304  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

At  earliest  dawn  the  pa  was  assaulted.  The  en 
tire  body  of  the  enemy  rushed  with  horrid  yells  upon 
the  wooden  walls,  hacking  and  cutting  wherever  they 
thought  an  impression  could  be  made  or  an  entrance 
effected.  The  whites,  wearied  with  their  long  watch, 
yet  braced  themselves  to  meet  and  repel  the  assault. 
The  natives  arose  stupidly  from  their  slumbers,  but, 
once  awake,  showed  themselves  ready  enough  for  the 
melee.  Before  these  had  got  their  eyes  open,  a  par 
ty  of  Waikatos  had  penetrated  to  the  inside  of  the 
fort.  Here,  however,  they  were  met  by  the  pa  peo 
ple,  and  at  once  slain,  to  a  man. 

Now  began  a  desperate  and  stoutly  contested  en 
gagement,  in  which  the  intrenchments  were  twice 
forced.  The  pa  people,  roused  to  the  fury  of  ma 
niacs,  dealt  death  at  every  blow.  The  field-pieces, 
loaded  with  hoops  and  stones,  also  did  great  execu 
tion,  and  in  all  probability  gained  the  action.  After 
a  combat  of  several  hours  the  assailants  retreated, 
carrying  with  them  their  dead  chiefs,  and  the  wound 
ed  of  all  ranks.  Once  flying,  however,  and  they  were 
panic-struck.  They  dropped  the  dead  chiefs,  and 
even  their  wounded  comrades,  and  fled  precipitately 
to  the  northward. 

The  pa  people  could  not  pursue  the  fugitives,  as 
their  numbers  were  too  few.  They  wreaked  ven 
geance,  however,  upon  the  wounded  who  where  left 
in  and  about  the  intrenchments.  These  were  hand 
ed  into  the  fort,  killed,  and  at  once  consigned  to  the 
ovens. 


HORRIBLE    BUTCHERY.  305 

After  waiting  sonic  time  in  fear  of  another  attack, 
the  pa  people  ventured  into  the  deserted  camp.  Now 
began  a  most  revolting  scene.  The  enemy  had  left 
behind  them  between  three  hundred  and  fifty  and 
four  hundred  killed  and  wounded.  Many  of  the 
wounded  were  put  to  death  with  dreadful  tortures. 
Some  were  thrown  alive  on  large  fires,  and  devoured 
with  savage  satisfaction  as  soon  as  cooked.  One 
man,  who  had  proved  a  traitor  to  another  settle 
ment,  was  taken  prisoner,  although  but  slightly 
wounded.  His  captors  tied  him  to  a  gun.  A  toma 
hawk  was  then  held  forcibly  between  his  teeth ;  a 
hole  was  cut  in  his  throat,  and  from  this  one  of  the 
pa  people  slowly  drank  his  blood.  It  is  stated  that 
the  unfortunate  traitor  did  not  shrink  from  the  tor 
ture.  His  body  was  quartered,  and  the  heart,  judged 
a  most  delicious  morsel,  was  sent  to  a  favorite  chief 
as  a  present. 

The  appearance  of  the  pa  was  that  of  a  horrible 
slaughter-house.  The  Englishmen  were  obliged  to 
remain  in  their  own  quarters.  Their  reproaches 
were  of  no  effect  with  the  natives,  who  were  drunken 
with  blood.  Bodies,  half  roasted,  were  flung  about 
in  all  directions.  Pieces  of  human  flesh  were  hung 
opposite  every  house.  The  entrails  of  the  slain 
were  lying  about  on  all  sides.  The  dogs  fed  upon 
these.  It  was  with  much  difficulty  that  the  poor 
traders  prevented  the  native  servants  from  bringing 
into  their  own  kitchens  morsels  of  the  horrid  food. 
The  enemy  had  buried  many  of  their  number,  killed 

u 


306  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND   WORLD. 

during  the  siege.  These  were  now  dug  up,  and,  not- 
witJistanding  their  decomposition,  devoured. 

Next,  thirteen  chiefs  of  the  pa,  who  were  killed 
during  the  last  assault,  were  buried  with  all  the  hon 
ors  usually  paid  to  the  great  men  of  New  Zealand. 
A  quantity  of  muskets  were  interred  with  them,  and 
ten  prisoners  were  sacrificed  upon  each  one's  grave, 
in  order  that  they  might  have  a  suitable  retinue  upon 
entering  the  next  world. 

If  the  conduct  of  the  pa  people  was  almost  too 
brutal  for  belief,  the  actions  of  their  assailants  dur 
ing  the  siege  had  not  been  any  better.  It  is  related 
that  one  wretch,  a  chief,  ordered  a  young  female 
slave,  taken  at  the  Taranaki  village,  to  make  a  very 
large  oven,  as  he  intended  to  entertain  some  friends, 
and  desired  a  quantity  of  food  prepared.  The  girl 
procured  wood,  made  the  necessary  excavation,  heat 
ed  the  stoves  red-hot,  and  then  informed  her  master 
that  all  was  prepared,  inquiring  what  provisions 
were  to  be  cooked.  He  ordered  her  to  place  her 
self  in  the  oven.  The  poor  girl  fell  upon  her  knees, 
and  frantically  begged  for  mercy.  But,  without 
heeding  her  cries,  the  demon-like  wretch  seized  her, 
lashed  her  hands  and  knees  together,  and  threw  her 
alive  into  the  oven,  covering  her  with  stones  and 
earth.  When  the  body  was  cboked,  this  monster 
and  his  friends  partook  of  it  with  much  relish. 

It  was  to  the  chief  who  committed  this  brutality 
that  several  of  the  white  men  had  been  assigned.  It 
is  easy  to  know  what  would  have  been  their  fate  had 


WHY  NEW  ZEAL  ANDERS   ARE  CANNIBALS.      307 

they  fallen  into  his  hands.  In  fact,  during  the  siege, 
he  at  various  times,  and  in  the  hearing  of  the  traders. 
boasted  of  his  intention  to  put  them  to  death  by  the 
slowest  and  severest  tortures,  then  to  devour  their 
bodies,  and  preserve  their  heads  as  trophies.  Hap 
pily,  they  were  enabled  to  frustrate  these  intentions, 
ami  save  themselves  from  a  fate  which  makes  one 
shudder  to  think  of. 

William.  I  never  thought  men  could  act  so  much 
worse  than  beasts.  Are  you  sure  that  all  you  have 
told  us  is  true,  George  ? 

George.  These  statements  were  made  by  men  who 
were  witness  to  all  they  related.  They  are  borne 
out  by  the  stories  of  the  natives  themselves,  who  are 
far  from  denying  any  of  these  atrocities,  and  boast 
of  the  commission  of  even  worse  than  I  have  related 
to  you. 

William.  It  seems  to  me  they  must  be  demons  in 
human  shape. 

Albert.  They  go  about  like  roaring  lions,  seeking 
whom  they  may  devour. 

George.  Yes ;  they  seem  drunken  with  blood. 

Josephine.  Why  do  they  eat  human  flesh  ?  Have 
they  always  done  so  ?  It  does  not  seem  to  me  nat 
ural  that  one  man  should  eat  another. 

George.  It  is  supposed  that  revenge,  fanned  on  by 
a  superstitious  belief  of  the  New  Zealanders,  first  in-y 
duced  them  to  eat  their  enemies.  It  is  thought  by 
them  that  to  devour  an  enemy  annihilates  not  only 
his  body,  but  also  his  soul  or  spirit,  which  henceforth 


308  STORIES    OF    THE   ISLAND    WORLD. 

must  lend  all  its  strength,  valor,  and  other  good  qual 
ities,  to  the  devourer.  This  doctrine  is  assiduously 
taught  by  the  priests,  who  find  their  gain  in  the  con 
tinuance  of  wars  and  feuds. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  cannibalism  was  at  first 
with  the  New  Zealanders  a  religious  rite.  Its  per 
formance  was  then  attended,  perhaps,  with  some  por 
tion  of  the  disgust  natural  to  man  when  contem 
plating  an  unnatural  deed.  But  a  long  continuance 
of  the  custom,  as  well  as  indulgence  in  its  practice 
from  earliest  infancy,  have  altogether  depraved  the 
tastes  of  the  natives  in  this  respect,  and  they  have 
an  actual  relish  for  the  flesh  of  a  fellow-creature, 
and  lose  all  sense  of  wrong  in  the  deed. 

The  practice  had  so  grown  into  the  habits  and 
thoughts  of  the  people  that,  even  in  Captain  Cook's 
time,  their  curses  had  all  reference  to  it.  Ekai  na 
to  wangana,  "  I'll  eat  your  head  ;"  Kai  koe  to  matua, 
"I'll  eat  your  father;"  and  others,  not  different  in 
nature,  were  their  most  forcible  anathemas. 

Captain  Cook,  in  his  first  voyage  to  New  Zealand, 
says,  "Almost  in  every  cove  we  landed  we  found 
the  flesh  and  bones  of  men  near  the  places  where  the 
fires  had  been  made."  So  incredible  did  it  seem  to 
this  navigator  that  men  should  eat  the  flesh  of  oth 
ers,  on  any  except  the  most  extreme  occasions,  that 
at  one  time,  when  some  remains  had  been  found 
among  a  party  of  natives  ashore,  the  officers  pur 
chased  a  head,  which  was  "taken  on  board.  A 
piece  of  the  flesh  was  broiled  and  eaten  by  one  of 


••  MAN    FAT." 

the  natives,  before  all  the  officers  and  most  of  the 
men.  This  had  such  an  effect  on  some  of  our  peo 
ple  as  to  make  them  sick." 

Far  from  e»emies  being  the  only  ones  devoted  to 
the  oven,  slaves  are  liable  at  any  moment  to  be  sac 
rificed  to  the  appetite  of  their  masters.  Numberless 
stories  are  on  record  of  chiefs  of  note,  trading  at  the 
time  extensively  with  the  whites,  killing  their  slaves, 
and  cooking  and  eating  them  with  every  appearance 
of  relish. 

Preparations  of  different  parts  of  the  human  body 
seem,  so  late  as  183G  and  7,  to  have  formed  a  usual 
portion  of  the  native  larder.  Mr.  Polack,  who  trav 
eled  in  New  Zealand  in  those  years,  says,  "  Previ 
ously  to  leaving  Waipoa,  I  requested  the  chief  to 
purchase  me  some  hog's  lard  to  serve  for  a  lamp, 
should  I  desire  to  write  after  night.  He  spoke  to 
some  of  the  people,  one  of  whom  presented  a  cala 
bash  for  sale,  containing  a  lard-like  substance.  I 
was  about  to  purchase  it,  when  my  faithful  servant 
told  me  in  broken  language,  '  He  man  fat.'  " 

He  refused  to  become  a  purchaser,  but  had  the 
curiosity  to  take  the  calabash  and  examine  the  con 
tents.  The  unctuous  grease  was  neither  the  fat  of 
dog,  pig,  or  bird.  It  could  only  be  the  article  named. 
He  inquired  of  the  vender  if  the  substance  was  hu 
man  fat. 

He  answered,  "//a/  te  tahi  inu  no  na  tangata 
maori,  no  te  ta/ii  toitrakakcka.  Yes,  it  is  the  fat  of  a 
native  man — of  a  slave  !" 


310  STORIES    OP   THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

Again,  Mr.  Polack  came,  in  his  journey,  upon  a 
tribe  who  had  just  roasted  in  the  oven  some  chiefs 
taken  in  a  battle  the  week  previous.  The  meal  was 
finished  before  his  arrival.  He  says,  "  Curious  to 
see  this  abhorrent  food  after  it  had  undergone  a  cu 
linary  process,  I  requested  a  minor  chief  to  show  me 
some.  He  accordingly  mounted  a  wata,  where  the 
provisions  are  always  kept,  and  brought  down  a 
small  flax  basket  containing  the  human  flesh.  At 
first  view  I  should  have  taken  it  for  fresh  boiled 
pork :  it  had  the  same  pale,  cadaverous  color.  My 
informant  stated  that  it  was  a  piece  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  thigh,  grasping  with  his  hand  that  part 
of  my  body  to  illustrate  his  words.  It  appeared 
very  much  shrunk.  On  my  observing  that  it  must 
have  appertained  to  a  boy,  the  head  of  its  possessor, 
when  alive,  was  pointed  out  to  me — apparently  a 
man  of  forty-five  years  of  age." 

You  have  now  before  you  the  condition  of  nearly 
all  New  Zealand  up  to  a  period  comparatively  re 
cent,  namely,  the  year  1840.  Although  missionary 
labors  were  begun  on  the  island  so  long  ago  as  1814, 
very  little  progress  seems  to  have  been  made  until 
the  year  1834.  The  missionaries,  both  of  the  Church 
and  Wesleyan  Societies,  were  obliged  to  remain  on 
the  sea-shore,  where  they  were  protected  by  the  Eu 
ropean  settlements,  and  also  by  chiefs,  whom  trade 
with  the  whites  had  bound  to  peaceful  action. 

From  this  year  on,  more  active  efforts  were  made. 
The  missionary  settlements  were  extended  along  the 


I.AH«»I:>.  ."•  1  1 

const  until  they  were  to  be  found  at  almost  every 
available  point.  Yet  they  could  not  penetrate  to 
the  interior.  Wars  were  continually  going  on  ;  and 
although  a  trader  was  comparatively  sale,  a  mission 
ary,  having  nothing  to  sell  or  buy,  was  thought  fit 
only  for  food.  Some  of  the  native  chiefs,  to  be  sure, 
volunteered  protection  to  the  missionaries;  but  in 
many  cases  where  this  was  taken  advantage  of,  sta 
tions  had  afterward  to  be  given  up,  the  power  of  the 
chief  not  being  sufficiently  great  to  aftbrd  safety. 

From  an  early  day  the  native  converts  have  been 
found  exceedingly  zealous  in  the  spread  of  the  Gos 
pel.  Several  parties  of  them,  who  went  out  among 
their  people  to  preach  to  them  the  saving  words, 
suffered  martyrdom.  Two  native  missionaries  were 
eaten  by  their  countrymen  so  late  as  the  year  1840. 

E'  Ongij  a  famous  New  Zealand  chief,  visited  En 
gland  in  1820,  six  years  after  the  establishment  of 
the  first  mission  in  the  Bay  of  Islands.  He  was  well 
received  by  the  King  of  England,  and  retumed  laden 
with  presents.  The  stories  he  told  of  the  wealth 
and  consequence  of  the  British  had  a  perceptibly  fa 
vorable  effect  upon  missionary  operations.  More 
over,  although  he  was  all  his  life  a  most  ferocious 
warrior,  and  used  the  arms  presented  to  him  in  En 
gland  only  to  cany  destruction  and  death  among  all 
tribes  on  his  island  who  did  not  submit  to  his  rule, 
he  was  always,  with  one  exception,  friendly  to  the 
missionaries.  His  visit  to  England  does  not  seem 
to  have  weaned  him  from  any  of  his  savage  tastes. 


312  STORIES    OF    THE    ISLAND    WORLD. 

The  wars  in  which  he  embarked  after  his  return 
were  the  most  barbarous  ever  known.  The  chief 
enemies  were  invariably  eaten,  and  many  of  E'Ongi's 
soldiers  actually  died  of  surfeit,  after  several  great 
battles,  when  the  dead  were  more  plentiful  than  the 
living. 

The  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  established  their 
first  mission  in  New  Zealand  in  1819.  The  princi 
pal  settlement  of  the  Wesleyan  missionaries  was  at 
Wangaroa,  on  the  northeast  coast,  north  of  the  Bay 
of  Islands.  They  had  been  received  here  by  the 
chief  George,  and  promised  protection .  They  labor 
ed  for  some  years,  till  at  last  they  were  driven  away 
by  E'Ongi,  who,  on  the  death  of  George,  destroyed 
their  settlement,  and  compelled  the  missionaries  for 
a  while  to  suspend  their  operations. 

So  little  success  did  the  missionary  operations  in 
New  Zealand  meet  with,  as  we  read  in  the  reports 
of  the  Church  Society  for  1850,  that,  "  after  twenty 
years'  labor  (from  1814  to  1834),  the  number  of  na 
tive  communicants  in  all  the  islands  was  but  eight." 

From  the  year  1840,  however,  there  seems  to  have 
been  a  material  alteration.  The  traders  had  by  that 
time  done  much  in  their  various  journeys  through 
the  interior  to  make  the  advantages  of  civilization 
known  and  appreciated.  The  country  had  been  ex 
plored,  and  the  power  of  Great  Britain  was  felt 
through  the  importance  of  her  commerce  with  the 
natives.  The  seed  which  had  been  sown  in  years 
past  by  devoted  missionaries  had  not  either  fallen 


MISSIONARY    SUCCESSES.  •">  1  •'* 

upon  barren  ground;  and  the  workers  in  this  part 
of  God's  vineyard  now  began  to  see  and  feel  the 
truth  of  that  promise  which  says,  "  Cast  your  bread 
upon  the  waters,  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many 
days."  In  1834  there  were  but  eight  native  Chris 
tians  in  all  New  Zealand.  The  country  was  yet 
under  the  power  of  savage  superstitions.  The  peo 
ple  were  then,  and  a  great  part  of  them  continued 
for  many  years  longer,  in  the  condition  I  have  been 
describing  to  you.  In  1849  there  were  in  that 
district  alone  which  includes  the  Bay  of  Islands 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  ninety-three  native 
Christians. 

In  the  report  of  a  missionary  committee  for  1852, 
it  is  stated  that  the  native  population  6f  New  Zea 
land  is  estimated  at  one  hundred  thousand;  that 
three  quarters  of  these  are  Protestant  Christians, 
and  about  five  thousand  are  connected  with  the  Ro 
man  Church,  which  has  also  missionaries  upon  the 
island.  The  balance  of  the  natives  refuse  to  join  any 
Christian  denomination ;  but  it  is  stated  that  they 
have,  for  the  most  part,  laid  aside  their  heathen  prac 
tices.  It  is  certain  that  in  all  the  northern  island, 
and  all  but  the  most  remote  and  inaccessible  por 
tions  of  the  southern,  the  cruelties  and  cannibalism 
of  the  natives  have  been  abandoned  through  the  in 
fluence  of  the  missionaries,  and  that  at  this  day  it 
may  with  truth  be  said  that,  as  a  people,  the  sav 
ages  of  New  Zealand  have  become  Christians. 

As  an  instance  of  the  irront  rhnnjro  which  has 


314  STORIES    OF   THE    ISLAND   WORLD. 

taken  place  even  among  the  most  savage  of  the  na 
tive  tribes,  I  see  it  stated  that,  on  the  place  where 
the  monster  Stewart  aided  a  band  of  natives  to  take 
and  destroy  an  entire  tribe — many  of  the  victims  be 
ing  cooked  in  the  coppers  of  his  vessel — on  the  scene 
of  this  outrage  there  stood,  in  1851,  a  missionary  es- 
establishment,  containing  property  to  the  value  of 
$30,000,  and  having  accommodations  for  lodging 
and  instructing  one  hundred  native  children ;  while 
all  the  neighborhood  has  become  Christianized. 

In  1853  there  were  in  New  Zealand,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Episcopal  and  Wesleyan  Societies, 
184  schools  organized,  containing  14,443  scholars, 
and  having  464  native  teachers.  There  were  also 
11,343  actual  communicants,  by  which  is  meant 
only  those  who  profess  a  saving  knowledge  of  the 
forgiveness  of  sin  through  the  merits  of  Jesus.  How 
many  regular  attendants  on  preaching  there  were  is 
not  stated,  but  it  is  understood  that  the  greater  part 
of  the  native  population  attend  more  or  less  upon 
the  ministry  of  the  Word. 

I  think  in  no  other  part  of  heathendom  has  the 
Gospel  achieved  such  signal  triumphs  as  among  the 
New  Zealanders.  When  you  think  of  them  as  they 
were  even  but  fifteen  years  ago,  cruel  cannibals, 
sunk,  as  it  seemed,  in  the  lowest  pits  of  vice  and  su 
perstition,  given  over  entirely  to  the  wicked  one, 
glorying  in  the  most  unnatural  crimes,  daily  com 
mitting  actions  the  bare  recital  of  which  makes  our 
blood  tingle  with  horror,  eating  the  flesh  and  drink- 


TIIK    RESULT.  .'HS 

ing  the  blood  of  their  fellow-creatures,  not  as  a  su 
perstitious  rite,  but  as  a  means  of  satisfying  a  de 
praved  appetite — when  we  think  of  this  people,  and 
see  them  now,  their  unruly  passions  curbed,  Chris 
tian  gentleness  taking  the  place  of  unrestrained  fe 
rocity,  honesty  of  treachery,  sobriety  of  every  excess, 
shall  we  not  thank  God  from  our  inmost  hearts  at 
the  marvelous  change  He  has  effected  ?  By  the  per 
severing  labors  of  the  missionaries  many  of  the  most 
bloodthirsty  of  the  chiefs  have  become  Christians, 
and  died  glorying  in  their  faith  in  Christ.  Rangi- 
liaiata,  one  of  the  most  savage  cannibals  on  either 
island  ;  Pirahawau,  one  of  the  chiefs  whom  Stewart 
assisted  to  kill  and  devour  a  tribe;  Te-Rauperaha, 
another  of  these  chiefs,  who  afterward  swept  off  an 
other  tribe,  not  leaving  one  to  tell  the  tale — these, 
and  many  others  grown  gray  in  cannibalism  and  the 
service  of  all  unholy  passions,  lived  to  hear  the  Gos 
pel,  and  died  good  men  and  Christians.  It  is  in 
such  victories  as  these  over  all  the  powers  of  dark 
ness  that  the  devoted  missionaries  find  their  great 
reward.  Let  us  honor  and  love  the  noble  men  and 
women  who  leave  their  homes,  and  undergo  dan 
gers,  and  toils,  and  deprivations  far  greater  than  we 
can  even  imagine,  to  preach  the  true  faith  to  these 
savage  inhabitants  of  the  "  uttermost  ends  of  the 
earth." 

THE    END. 


INSTRUCTION  AND  ENTERTAINMENT 
FOR  THE  YOUXd, 


Books  Adapted  to  Family i  School,  Town,  Dis 
trict^  and  Sunday-School  Libraries. 
BY  JACOB  AND  JOHN  S.  C.  ABBOTT. 


Abbotts'  Illustrated  Histories, 

A  Series  of  Volumes  by  JACOB  and  JOHN  S.  C.  ABBOTT,  con 
taining  severally  full  accounts  of  the  lives,  characters, 
and  exploits  of  the  most  distinguished  Sovereigns,  Poten 
tates,  and  Rulers  that  have  been  chiefly  renowned  among 
mankind,  in  the  various  ages  of  the  world,  from  the  ear 
liest  periods  to  the  present  day. 

The  Volumes  of  this  Series  are  printed  and  bound  uni 
formly,  and  are  adorned  with  richly  illuminated  Title- 
pages  and  numerous  Engravings.  16mo,  Muslin,  60  cents 
per  Volume;  Muslin,  gilt  edges,  75  cents  per  Volume; 
Library  Sheep,  75  cents  per  Volume.  The  Volumes  may 
be  obtained  separately. 

Cyrus  the  Great.  Alfred  the  Great 

Darius  the  Great  William  the  Conqueror. 

Xerxes.  Mary  Queen  of  Scots. 

Alexander  the  Great  Queen  Elizabeth, 

Romulus.  Charles  I. 

Hannibal.  Charjes  II. 

Pyrrhus.  Josephine. 

Julius  Caesar.  Maria  Antoinette. 

Cleopatra.  Madame  Roland. 

Nero.  Hernando  Cortez. 

The  narratives  are  succint  and  comprehensive,  and  are  strictly  faith- 
fill  to  the  truth,  so  far  as  it  can  now  be  ascertained.  They  are  written 
in  ;i  very  plain  and  simple  style,  but  are  not  juvenile  in  their  character, 
nor  intended  exclusively  for  the  young.  The  volumes  are  sufficiently 
large  to  allow  each  history  to  comprise  all  the  leading  facts  in  the  lifr  of 
the  personage  who  is  the  subject  of  it,  and  thus  to  communicate  all  the 
information  in  respect  to  him  which  is  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  the 
general  reader. 

The  several  volumes  of  the  series  follow  each  other,  in  the  main,  in 
regular  historical  order,  and  each  one  continues  the  general  narrative 
of  history  down  to  the  period  at  which  the  next  volume  takes  up  the 
story  ;  so  that  the  whole  series  will,  when  completed,  present  to  the 
reader  a  connected  line  of  general  history  from  the  present  age  back  to 
the  remotest  times.  Thus  the  whole  scries  constitutes  a  very  complete 
and  valuable  treasury  of  historical  knowledge,  while  yet  each  volume, 
consisting  as  it  does  of  a  single  distinct  and  entertaining  narrative,  has 
all  the  interest,  for  the  reader,  of  a  tale. 


2  INSTRUCTION  AND  ENTERTAINMENT  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

Such  being  the  design  and  character  of  the  works,  they  would  seem 
to  be  specially  adapted,  not  only  for  family  reading,  but  also  for  district, 
town,  school,  and  Sunday-school  Libraries,  as  well  as  for  text-books  in 
literary  seminaries. 

The  volumes  already  issued  have  had  a  wide  circulation  in  all  parts 
of  the  country — more  than  two  hundred  thousand  volumes  having  been 
already  sold.  The  plan  of  the  series,  and  the  manner  in  which  the  de 
sign  has  been  carried  out  by  the  authors  in  the  execution  of  it,  have 
been  highly  commended  by  the  press  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  many 
individual  parents  have  spoken  of  the  books  as  exerting  a  very  power 
ful  influence  in  awakening  a  taste  for  instructive  reading  among  their 
children,  and  a  love  for  the  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge. 

The  whole  series  has  been  introduced  into  the  school  libraries  of  sev 
eral  of  the  largest  and  most  influential  states. 

They  have,  moreover,  been  republished  in  England  in  many  different 
forms,  and  have  had  a  wide  circulation  in  that  country. 

The  Little  Learner,  by  Jacob  Abbott, 

THE  "  Little  Learner"  is  a  series  of  juvenile  books  adapted  to  the  ear 
liest  age,  and  designed  to  assist  in  the  very  first  development  of  the  mind 
of  a  chila  while  under  its  mother's  special  care.  The  series  is  comprised 
in  Five  Volumes,  and  is  intended  to  constitute  a  complete  manual  of  in 
struction  for  the  child  during  the  five  or  six  first  years  of  life. 

LEARNING  TO  TALK  ;  or,  Entertaining  and  Instructive  Lessons  in 
the  use  of  Language.  Illustrated  with  170  Engravings.  Small  4to, 
Muslin,  50  cents. 

This  volume  is  designed  to  assist  the  child  in  its  first  attempt  to  ac 
quire  the  use  of  language.  It  consists  of  a  great  number  of  beautiful 
engravings,  with  simple  explanations  to  be  read  to  the  child  by  a  parent, 
or  older  brother  or  sister,  with  many  explanations  of  words  and  lessons 
in  pronunciation  interposed. 

LEARNING  TO  THINK.  Consisting  of  Easy  and  Entertaining  Les 
sons,  designed  to  assist  in  the  first  unfolding  of  the  Reflective  and 
Reasoning  Powers  of  Children.  Illustrated  with  120  Engravings. 
Small  4to,  Muslin,  50  cents. 

Designed  to  call  out  and  cultivate  the  reflective  and  reasoning  powers 
of  the  child,  and  to  exercise  and  develop  the  imagination.     It  contains  a 
great  number  of  beautiful  engravings,  accompanied  by  explanations  and 
remarks,  and  with  a  great  number  and  variety  of  questions  to  be  read 
by  the  parent  or  teacher,  and  answered  by  the  child. 
LEARNING  TO  READ.    Consisting  of  Easy  and  Entertaining  Les 
sons,  designed  to  assist  young  children  in  studying  the  forms  of  the 
Letters,  and  in  beginning  to  Read.    Illustrated  with  160  Engravings. 
Small  4to,  Muslin,  50  cents. 

This  volume  is  intended  to  amuse  and  interest  the  child  in  the  work 
of  learning  the  forms  of  the  letters,  and  in  beginning  to  read.  Like  all 
the  other  volumes  of  the  series,  it  is  profusely  illustrated  with  beautiful 
engravings. 

LEARNING  ABOUT  COMMON  THINGS;  or,  Familiar  Instructions 
for  Children  in  respect  to  the  Objects  around  them,  that  attract  their 
Attention,  and  awaken  their  Curiosity,  in  the  earliest  Years  of  Life. 
Illustrated  with  120  Engravings.     Small  4to,  Muslin,  50  cents. 
The  object  of  this  volume  is  to  communicate  useful  elementary  instruc 
tion  to  the  child,  in  respect  to  the  various  objects  that  come  within  his 
observation,  and  attract  his  attention  in  the  earliest  years  of  his  lire. 
It  aims  to  give  a  right  direction  to  his  thoughts  on  these  subjects,  and  to 
accustom  him  to  correct  and  careful  habits,  both  of  observation  and  re- 


INSTRUCTION  AND   ENTERTAINMENT  FOR  THE  YOUNG.  3 

flection  in  respect  to  them,  and  to  a  correct  and  discriminating  use  or 
language  in  describing  what  tic  sees. 

LEARNING  ABOUT  RIGHT  AND  WRONG.     (Nearly  ready.) 

This  volume  explains  those  simple  and  universally  admitted  principles 
of  moral  and  religious  duty  which  are  applicable  to  the  conduct  and  char 
acter  in  the  earliest  years  of  life.  Its  ;nm  is  to  assist  in  the  develop 
ment  of  the  dawning  conscience  of  the  little  learner,  and  cultivate  and 
enlighten  his  moral  sense.  The  principles  are  all  presented  in  a  very 
practical  form,  and  are  illustrated  \v  th  a  great  variety  of  examples  made 
real  and  vivid  to  the  child  by  means  of  the  engravings. 

Harper's  Story  Books, 

A  Monthly  Scries  of  Narratives,  Biographies,  and  Tales 
for  the  Instruction  and  Entertainment  of  the  Young.  By 
JACOB  ABBOTT.  Embellished  with  numerous  and  beautiful 
Engravings. 

These  books  are  published  in  monthly  Numbers  of  160 
pages,  small  quarto.  They  are  very  beautifully  illustra 
ted,  and  are  printed  on  fine  calendered  paper. 

The  Series  may  be  obtained  of  Booksellers,  Periodical 
Agents,  and  Postmasters,  or  from  the  Publishers,  at  Three 
Dollars  a  Year,  or  Twenty-five  Cents  a  Number.  Sub 
scriptions  may  commence  with  any  Number.  The  Post 
age  upon  "  Harper's  Story  Books,"  which  must  be  paid 
Quarterly,  in  advance,  is  Two  Cents. 

The  several  Numbers  are  also  bound  separately  in  Mus 
lin,  and  are  to  be  procured  in  this  form  at  any  Booksellers, 
at  Forty  Cents  per  Volume. 

The  Numbers  are  also  bound  in  QUARTERLY  VOLUMES, 
Three  Numbers  in  a  Volume,  and  are  sold  at  $1  00  per 
Volume. 

The  two  Periodicals,  "Harper's  New  Monthly  Maga 
zine"  and  "  Harper's  Story  Books,"  will  be  supplied  to 
Subscribers  at  Five  Dollars  a  Year,  and  will  be  published 
on  the  first  day  of  each  Month. 

The  successive  numbers  of  the  Story  Books  present  a  great  variety 
of  subjects  and  of  styles  of  composition,  including  narratives,  dialogued, 
descriptive  essays,  histories,  and  entertaining  stories  of  a  character  to 
interest  and  please  the  youthful  mind,  and,  at  the  same  time,  to  impart 
information  that  will  be  useful  in  subsequent  life.  Thus  they  combine 
the  presentation  of  important  and  mien-sting  facts  with  the  inculcation 
of  sound  principles  in  taste,  morals,  and  religion,  and  thus  form  a  wel 
come  and  efficient  aid  in  the  work  of  home  education.  Though  "ot  in 
tended  to  be  of  exclusively  religious  character,  they  are  so  far  designed 
to  exert  a  moral  and  religious  influence  on  the  mind.s  of  the  readers  as 
to  lead  to  their  introduction  in  many  instances  to  Sabbath  School  Li 
braries. 

The  illustrations  of  the  successive  numbers  are  very  numerous,  and 
are  executed  in  the  highest  style  of  modern  xylography. 


4  INSTRUCTION  AND  ENTERTAINMENT  FOR  THE  YOUNG. 

The  following  volumes  are  now  ready: 

VOL.  I.  BRUNO  ;  or,  Lessons  of  Fidelity,  Patience,  and  Self-denial 

taught  by  a  Dog. 
WILLIE  AND  THE  MORTGAGE.    Showing  how  much  may 

be  accomplished  by  a  boy. 
THE   STRAIT  GATE  ;   or,  The  Rule  of  Exclusion  from 

Heaven. 

VOL.  II.  THE  LITTLE  LOUVRE  ;  or,  The  Boys'  and  Girls'  Picture 

Gallery. 

PRANK  ;  or,  The  Philosophy  of  Tricks  and  Mischief. 
EMMA  ;  or  The  Three  Misfortunes  of  a  Belle. 
VOL.  III.  VIRGINIA  ;  or,  A  Little  Light  on  a  Very  Dark  Saying. 
TIM  BOO  AND  JOLIBA  ;  or,  The  Art  of  being  Useful. 
T1MBOO  AND  FANNY  ;  or,  The  Art  of  Self-instruction. 

VOL.  IV  THE   HARPER   ESTABLISHMENT;  or,  How  the  Story 

Books  are  Made. 

FRANKLIN,  the  Apprentice  Boy. 
THE  STUDIO  ;  or,  Illustrations  of  the  Theory  and  Practice 

of  Drawing,  for  Young  Artists  at  Home. 

VOL.  V.  THE  STORY  OF  ANCIENT  HISTORY,  from  the  earliest 
Periods  to  the  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

THE  STORY  OF  ENGLISH  HISTORY,  from  the  earliest 
Periods  to  the  American  Revolution. 

THE  STORY  OF  AMERICAN  HISTORY,  from  the  earliest 
Settlement  of  the  Country  to  the  Establishment  of  the  Fed 
eral  Constitution. 

VOL.  VI.  JOHN  TRUE  ;  or,  The  Christian  Experience  of  an  Honest 

Boy. 

ELFRED  ;  or,  the  Blind  Boy  and  his  Pictures. 
THE  MUSEUM  ;  or,  Curiosities  Explained. 

Abbott's  Pranconia  Stories, 

Franconia  Stories.  By  JACOB  ABBOTT.  Beautifully  bound, 
engraved  Title-pages,  and  numerous  Illustrations.  Com 
plete  in  10  vols.  16mo,  Muslin,  50  cents  each.  The  Vol 
umes  may  be  obtained  separately. 

Malleville.  Wallace.  Mary  Erskine. 

Mary  Bell.  Beechnut.  Rodolphus. 

Ellen  Linn.  Stuyvesant.  Caroline. 

Agnes. 

This  charming  series  of  connected  stories  is  complete  in  ten  volumes. 
Each  volume  is  an  entirely  distinct  and  independent  work,  having  no 
necessary  connection  of  incidents  with  those  that  precede  or  follow  it, 
while  yet  the  characters  of  the  scenes  in  which  the  stories  are  laid  are 
substantially  the  same  in  all.  They  present  peaceful  pictures  of  happy 
domestic  life,  and  are  intended  not  chiefly  to  amuse  and  entertain  the 
children  who  shall  peruse  them,  but  to  furnish  them  with  attractive  les 
sons  of  moral  and  intellectual  instruction,  and  to  train  their  hearts  to 
habits  of  ready  and  cheerful  subordination  to  duty  and  law. 

The  most  attractive  tales  for  children  which  have  been  issued  from 
the  press  for  years. — Cincinnati  Gazette. 


THIS  BOOK  IS  DUE  ON  THE  LAST  DATE 
STAMPED  BELOW 


AN  INITIAL  FINE  OF  25  CENTS 

WILL  BE  ASSESSED  FOR  FAILURE  TO  RETURN 
THIS  BOOK  ON  THE  DATE  DUE.  THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  SO  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY  AND  TO  $1.OO  ON  THE  SEVENTH  DAY 
OVERDUE. 


JUN    141943 

KfcC  U  L.U 

APR  17   1946 

UUI        .^  wO  *  JL  Pm 

- 

t 

•r 

' 

SSM'S38C 

'  r  '  ,:    -••- 

£>LP  3    i. 

ip^ 

a  ^t^}^ 

RFC'n  i  n 

<Locm^ 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


